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Chapter 13
◎ The Chen Family’s Past ◎
Feng Xueming left the mountainside and headed toward his apartment.
Upon entering, he walked over to the bar, took a glass, uncorked a bottle of liquor, and poured a small half-glass. He had barely had a drink at the bar earlier when Xu Miao’er and his cousin interrupted him.
The phone rang inside, and he walked over to answer it. He heard a sharp, accusing voice on the other end. He sighed, “Mom.”
“Xueming, what did your grandfather say to you?”
“Did Grandma call you?” He knew this was a pointless question.
“Why can’t you just listen to your grandfather and go along with him?” His mother hesitated for a moment. “Your grandmother says your grandfather has kept that woman’s photo, the one with her son. That woman left decisively, swearing never to forgive your grandfather. But who knows? She’s probably gone through a lot in the mainland these years, maybe her thoughts have changed. If your grandfather goes to her now, after all these years, she might forgive him. Anything could happen.”
Unlike the other wealthy families on the mountainside with multiple wives, the old man had only one wife, his grandmother. Everyone said that the old man had broken ties with his first wife for his grandmother and remained loyal to her. Grandma was proud of this, though the family knew it was all a facade.
“Mom, my grandfather is a very calm and rational person. If anything, he would just make amends. But there’s no way he would give Tianhe to anyone else. Do you think a child raised in that environment in the mainland would have a business mind?” Feng Xueming exhaled, “Grandfather has no other choice.”
“Well, at least call Miao’er and apologize to her!”
Feng Xueming laughed, “I’ll give her a surprise tomorrow. Don’t worry!”
“Rest early!”
“Okay.”
Feng Xueming hung up the phone, staring at the amber-colored liquor. He thought about what Liao Yazhe had said to him. Fan Qi had called Xu Miao’er a Halloween pumpkin, and he laughed aloud. He took out his address book, found the number he was looking for, and noticed a piece of paper tucked inside. He flipped it over, found his secretary’s number, and dialed.
The voice on the other end answered, “Boss.”
“Go pick out a gift for about thirty to forty thousand and buy a large bouquet of flowers. Have them delivered to Miss Xu of Changxing before 8 AM tomorrow.”
Feng Xueming hung up and opened the paper again. The handwriting, which hadn’t seemed much at the time, now struck him as charming and full of grace. On impulse, he dialed another number. The call didn’t go through immediately, and he almost hung up, but then the phone was answered.
“Hello!”
Hearing the voice, Feng Xueming glanced at his watch: 11:23 PM.
He was calling a woman in the middle of the night. He thought for a moment, then said, “Fan Qi.”
Fan Qi, who had been reading, jumped at the unexpected voice. How did this stranger know her name?
“Who is this?”
“Feng Xueming.” Feng Xueming was surprised that Fan Qi didn’t recognize his voice.
“Calling me in the middle of the night?” Fan Qi asked, surprised. “Mr. Feng, how come you’re calling so late?”
This question caught Feng Xueming off guard. He paused before answering, “I have something scheduled for Monday, so I wanted to check out your ad shoot on Sunday. Do you have any plans?”
For Fan Qi, this was exactly what she had hoped for: “Of course.”
“OK, I’ll arrange things, and let you know tomorrow. See you on Sunday.”
Listening to the dial tone on the phone, Fan Qi hung up, feeling speechless. This performance was just as good as the original’s. Was he trying to get her attention on purpose? Sorry, but she wasn’t interested.
She had lived just fine without a man in her past life. In this life, she had to deal with Chen Zhiqian. Just thinking about him made her head ache. She really needed to change her carefree attitude. The book had been very clear: he was not someone easy to deal with. He was the kind of person who could bring about a sudden fall from grace.
Yesterday’s phone call—how had she ended up asking someone to buy condiments and food? But she really wanted to eat! Especially today, after visiting Central, maybe it was just because she wasn’t familiar with the area, but she still couldn’t find the seasoning she wanted. As a last resort, she bought two bottles of Taiwanese spicy rice sauce. It would have to do. At least it was better than nothing.
Fan Qi lay down on the bed. The weather had gotten hotter today, and she had to turn on the air conditioning. Now she understood it was a window-type air conditioner, integrated inside and outside, which saved space and was easy to install and remove. If she moved, she could just carry it with her. The downside, though, was that the cooling efficiency was low, and it was noisy.
Turning on the air conditioner, she covered her head with a pillow, telling herself to endure, whether it was the air conditioner or the seasoning. When in Rome, do as the Romans do!
The next day, Fan Qi continued her work at Yaohua. She didn’t bother to queue for the elevator, instead taking the stairs up to the second floor. As she stepped out of the hallway, she saw someone walking by holding a large bouquet of red roses and a shopping bag. She recognized this person—it was Feng Xueming’s secretary, the one who had served them tea the other day. Seeing a familiar face, it was only polite to greet them.
“Miss Wang, what a coincidence!”
“Miss Fan.”
Feng Xueming’s secretary had come to deliver gifts. At her boss’s command, she had gone out to buy gifts even after the store had closed and had gotten up early to pick out a large bouquet of roses. But she hadn’t found the intended recipient yet—she’d first bumped into Fan Qi, the rumored object of Feng Xueming’s affections. Did she think the flowers and gifts were for her?
What should she do?
At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Xu Miao’er walked out, wearing a brown dress. Secretary Wang quickly called out, “Miss Xu, Mr. Feng asked me to deliver these gifts to you.”
Xu Miao’er, who had barely slept the previous night, saw the large bouquet and gift box in front of her, and especially noticed Fan Qi standing nearby. Though Fan Qi had already turned to walk away, Xu Miao’er smiled happily and teasingly said, “He’s busy with work! Does he really need to do all this?”
Secretary Wang had completed her task, but she still felt uneasy and was eager to leave. “Miss Xu, I’ll head back now.”
“Alright!” Xu Miao’er replied cheerfully.
Fan Qi entered the office, set down her bag, and took out the mug she’d bought at the supermarket last night. She went to the tea room to fill it with water, thinking to herself that people in Hong Kong really knew how to have fun. If it weren’t for the stock market, she would definitely return to Shanghai.
As she was pouring water, Miss Xiang from the Administration Department entered with another female employee. Miss Xiang nodded when she saw Fan Qi. “Good morning, Miss Fan!”
“Good morning, Miss Xiang!” Fan Qi greeted back, turning to the other woman, “And good morning to you too!”
“This is Wang Simin from the Settlement Department.”
“Hello, Miss Wang!”
“Hello!”
Fan Qi finished filling her mug and overheard Miss Xiang saying, “Did you all see? Someone sent flowers and gifts to Xu Miao’er early this morning.”
“I didn’t see it, but I heard it was her fiancé, Mr. Feng Xueming, the grandson of Tianhe’s owner.”
“Guess that’s what they mean by matching social status?”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing to envy. They say he’s the heir to Tianhe, but who knows? After all, Mr. Liu still has a legitimate granddaughter. If he really wanted a son-in-law, what would Feng Xueming have to do with it? The Feng family’s food business can’t compare to the Xu family.”
“Mr. Liu wouldn’t want a son-in-law from outside; after all, he’s a son-in-law himself,” Miss Xiang said, looking around at everyone.
This got the attention of the women in the office. Miss Xiang continued, “Back then, the Chen family from Shanghai came here to seek refuge and built the famous ‘Fanyuan’ house in Mid-Levels. Later, Miss Chen, the eldest daughter, fell in love with a poor student in Hong Kong. Chen’s father saw that the student’s family had perished in the war and thought he was reliable, so he took him in as a son-in-law. When Chen’s father went back to the mainland to manage the business, his daughter and son-in-law stayed in Hong Kong. Soon after, news came that Chen’s father had passed away, and Miss Chen, pregnant, returned to the mainland. When the war ended, Miss Chen returned to Hong Kong, only to find that Mrs. Liu had moved into the Fanyuan and lived there for many years. It’s said Miss Chen left quietly and returned to Shanghai.”
“Wait, why was Miss Chen pregnant when she went back? Wasn’t it Liu Xiangnian who went back?” someone asked.
“Well, here’s the thing. Chen’s father had asked his daughter and son-in-law not to return, but at that time, he and his trusted aides were killed in a bombing. If the Chen family didn’t return, the business couldn’t survive, so someone had to go back to stabilize the situation,” Miss Xiang explained.
“Business isn’t more important than life,” someone commented.
“There’s a reason for this. Yongyu made a movie called The Firebrand Beauty, and the movie’s main character was based on Miss Chen. In the film, the character, Fan Baoyi, argues with her husband, saying that the flour mill and grain channels were vital during the war. Without them, many people would starve. She had to return to ensure the survival of the business.”
“Is that so?” Wang Simin asked. “What happened afterward?”
“There’s no ‘afterward.’ Who knows if Miss Chen even survived in the mainland?” Miss Xiang sighed. She glanced at the time and said, “Alright, time’s up. Back to your desks.”
Fan Qi returned to her desk, took out her notebook, and reviewed the stocks she had researched that morning. Based on her analysis, she picked out the sectors that might perform well today. Suddenly, the light in front of her was blocked, and Liao Yazhe stood in front of her. “How’s the revision going?”
Fan Qi looked up, “I think I’m ready for the exam.”
He almost wanted to say she was bragging, but after remembering that her analysis yesterday aligned with his father’s thoughts, Liao Yazhe couldn’t argue. He smiled, “Then why not hurry up and sign up?”
Fan Qi took out her Hong Kong identity card and her mainland high school graduation certificate from her bag. Liao Yazhe snatched the graduation certificate from her hand and opened it, seeing the black-and-white photo inside. He compared it with Fan Qi’s face and said, “The face looks similar, but why does the vibe feel so different?”
“You’re the one with the vibe!” Fan Qi snatched the certificate back from his hand. “I’m going to register now.”
Liao Yazhe looked down at the notebook spread out on her desk. Although it was in simplified Chinese, he could manage to read it, so he picked it up and read a couple of lines.
“Isn’t this someone else’s private information? Don’t you think it’s inappropriate to read it like this?” Fan Qi asked him.
Liao Yazhe realized his mistake. He shouldn’t have been snooping around in someone else’s thoughts. He handed the notebook back to her. “Sorry.”
His politeness made Fan Qi feel a little embarrassed. “It’s fine. I’ll go now!”
“Alright,” Liao Yazhe said reluctantly as he returned to his office.
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minaaa[Translator]
Just a translator working on webnovels and sharing stories I love with fellow readers. If you like my work, please check out my other translations too — and feel free to buy me a Ko-fi by clicking the link on my page. Your support means a lot! ☕💕