Chapter 42.2

The next day, when Xu Yuan returned to work, her unusual emotions had calmed down significantly. Even when she met Fang Mingyang’s gaze, her expression remained unchanged.

Fang Mingyang worked diligently; although he wasn’t very good at speaking, he wasn’t completely oblivious. As the new member of the department, he arrived early today and poured a cup of warm water for his colleagues. Even though the company had a cleaning lady, he still took the time to carefully wipe Xu Yuan’s desk and water the potted plants. When colleagues arrived at the office one after another and saw a cup of water on Xu Yuan’s desk, they all guessed it was done by Fang Mingyang, and they felt a better impression of this handsome newcomer.

There weren’t many tasks for the new employee, as there was still much he didn’t understand. It wasn’t lunchtime yet, so Xu Yuan, as usual, prepared to check on the finance department.

Now, people from both departments fully understood that no one could become a wealthy wife easily; they all needed to have skills. Xu Yuan could now be said to be managing two departments, but she organized her work well, not chaotic or flustered, and was doing increasingly better, truly impressing everyone.

Xu Yuan didn’t particularly like to take the elevator; unless she was in a hurry, she usually preferred to take the stairs for exercise.

Today, she wore flat shoes to the safety passage. Just as she hadn’t walked far, she heard someone on the phone.

Holding onto the stairs, she leaned her head out to see the source of the sound, and it seemed to be Fang Mingyang. He was wearing a white shirt today, and from his back, it should be him.

His voice was very low, but the safety passage was so quiet that Xu Yuan could vaguely hear a few words.

“I’ll figure out the rent issue. Today’s my second day at work; how could I possibly advance my salary? I’m still in the probation period, so stop thinking about that. I don’t have much money on me, don’t worry; I definitely won’t spend it recklessly…”

“There’s a cafeteria in the company, but you have to top up money. At least three hundred at a time… There’s a neighborhood near the company with small stalls selling fried noodles for five bucks; I just eat that. It’s pretty good.”

“What’s healthy or not? Given the conditions at home, having something to eat is already good enough; why care so much…”

Xu Yuan really couldn’t listen any longer. She couldn’t bear to hear Fang Mingyang, with his face, say such down-and-out things.

Even her cousin, despite being in the most difficult times, always had an elegant demeanor and often taught her to pay attention to etiquette.

She just couldn’t tolerate it, truly.

Xu Yuan turned around and left the safety passage, choosing to take the elevator.

She admitted that she still couldn’t forget her cousin. How could she forget? Her cousin’s family sacrificed so much to vindicate her own family, even dying at the height of their glory, so knowing this person only looked exactly like her cousin but wasn’t him at all, she still couldn’t help but feel sorrow.

As she stepped out of the elevator and was almost at the finance department, she gritted her teeth and turned back, took the elevator again, and returned to the public welfare project department.

As soon as she arrived in the department, she saw Fang Mingyang sorting through last year’s documents.

If one looked closely, Fang Mingyang was really skinny, like a thin bamboo pole. Despite his poor situation, he was still wearing a very clean white shirt, and his hair was neatly combed, showing no signs of being destitute.

Xu Yuan sighed and called out to Fang Mingyang, “Come to my office for a moment.”

Fang Mingyang hurriedly set aside his work and walked into Xu Yuan’s office, closing the door behind him. He still dared not look directly at Xu Yuan, as he had never seen such a beautiful person, especially someone of her status. He felt a subconscious inferiority in her presence.

Unbeknownst to him, Xu Yuan felt a bit uncomfortable seeing his expression.

Although she knew he wasn’t her cousin, she couldn’t help but be influenced by it.

Just like when she faced Meng Zhengrong before, even knowing he wasn’t the emperor, she still felt an involuntary fear; it took her a while to get over it.

She wondered how long it would take to completely see Fang Mingyang as her subordinate and not be affected by his face.

“Manager,” Fang Mingyang called out.

Xu Yuan gestured for him to sit down and then rummaged through her drawer for a while until she found the meal card the HR department had given her.

The HR department, along with the finance department and cafeteria, were all quite cunning. Xu Yuan had intended to top up the card, but when the cafeteria saw it, they were shocked by the amount of money on it.

The cafeteria didn’t dare swipe the boss’s card, so Xu Yuan had eaten several times without paying.

“Did the HR department give you a meal card?”

Fang Mingyang paused for a moment before nodding. “Yes, they did.”

“I don’t need this meal card, so you can take it,” Xu Yuan said, offering it to Fang Mingyang, but he hesitated to accept it.

Xu Yuan sighed, “You’re my assistant. Sometimes, when I need to work late, I’ll need you to fetch me food. It’ll be easier this way. You can use my meal card.”

Fang Mingyang felt uneasy about taking his boss’s card.

Seeing Fang Mingyang still hesitating, Xu Yuan gave a firm order, “Take it. Even the finance department manager gives their assistant their meal card. It’s an unwritten rule.”

She guessed that Fang Mingyang wouldn’t dare to investigate the matter.

Fang Mingyang reluctantly accepted it.

“Today, just take this card to the cafeteria and get lunch for me. And please get a bowl of white fungus soup for me,” Xu Yuan added.

The cafeteria offered desserts, and the white fungus soup was the best among them.

Fang Mingyang wanted to say something but didn’t know if it was appropriate, so he just nodded.

In his heart, he had already decided that when he got paid, he would add more money to the card.

“Alright, you don’t need to get my meal today. I’ll be eating with my husband,” Xu Yuan said.

Fang Mingyang understood she was referring to Meng Zhengrong.

After Fang Mingyang left, Xu Yuan leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh. She really couldn’t just stand by and do nothing; after all, he looked just like her cousin.

Yet, there was still a hint of disappointment inside her—if only this person truly were her cousin.

In her past life, loneliness had peaked at this moment.

It wasn’t that she didn’t care about family; it wasn’t that her family ties were weak—it was simply that she had none.

The Xu family, in a blood relation sense, was still her family, but it lacked something essential. As for Fang Mingyang, he was just a face, which didn’t drive her to lose her reason.

After all this, Xu Yuan felt that she had become fragile, to the point of beginning to hope for a true family of her own.

That family member should be her child, shouldn’t it?

Perhaps her relationship with Meng Zhengrong should also reach a new breakthrough.

==

Fang Mingyang enjoyed the most sumptuous meal he had had in a while, savoring the flavors long after he returned home that evening.

His senior had been right; the cafeteria at Meng Corporation could definitely keep people coming back.

However, he didn’t dare to eat anything too expensive; he opted for the cheapest options. He secretly kept track of his spending in a notebook, planning to reimburse himself when he got his salary.

He returned to his cramped rental unit, carrying a large steamed bun he bought from the supermarket.

Having worked for nearly a year, he had saved some money because he was frugal, but his living situation was still quite tight due to increased family expenses.

Recently, his father had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. Both of his parents were from the countryside and had never thought about getting insurance, so it was too late for regrets when the illness struck.

His girlfriend, whom he had been dating since university, had also broken up with him. He understood and accepted the situation.

His father was still quite young and could not simply choose not to be treated, as a child, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

He had downgraded from a small room to this narrow attic, saving several hundred yuan in rent, which was a small relief.