Chapter 37.2

No matter what, Xu Yuan had to thank Shen Xin. Thanks to her, Shen Ming had no chance of making a comeback, and the public welfare project department was now hers.

However, she couldn’t feel happy about it. She was even somewhat distracted from her work.

She believed what she saw that night wasn’t an illusion. After all, that face had always been in her memory.

To explore that slight possibility, Xu Yuan had refused Meng Zhengrong’s offer to go home together for the past few days. She had the driver take her to that road first, then stopped by the roadside to watch passersby. She usually didn’t stay long, at most half an hour. Xu Yuan also instructed the driver not to tell Meng Zhengrong about this.

Under normal circumstances, Meng Zhengrong would be unhappy about this, but he had been so busy these days that he didn’t even have time to drink water.

The company had several major projects being introduced and was expanding new subsidiaries overseas. As the president, Meng Zhengrong was definitely not idle.

Some work could be brought home, but some could only be done at the company, such as video conferences. Meng Zhengrong thought that if Xu Yuan waited for him to get off work, who knew how late it would be, so he agreed that she could leave first during this period.

“Stop here.”

The driver found a place to park, and Xu Yuan rolled down the window, focusing on the street opposite.

The weather in July and August was scorching, with waves of heat flowing in, but she seemed unfazed.

In a city this large, the chance of two strangers meeting again was slim, and she didn’t know the probability.

Her warmest and most painful memories were tied to that person.

She had decided that whether or not the person had been reincarnated, as long as she saw that face again, she would treat them as him.

Coming to this world, encountering two people who looked exactly like those from her past life, she realized that the Emperor and that person were different.

She respected the Emperor but had no regrets. She could quickly and calmly face Meng Zhengrong, who only looked like the Emperor. Besides that fact, they had nothing in common, and she never thought Meng Zhengrong was the Emperor’s reincarnation.

But that person was different. She felt guilty towards him, and he was the one who gave her the last bit of warmth in her past life.

If she could meet him again, even if it was just someone with the same face, she would be satisfied.

While waiting, Xu Yuan’s phone rang. It was a call from Meng Zhengrong. She picked it up, “Hello.”

Meng Zhengrong was eating the meal his assistant had packed. While drinking soup, he asked, “Are you home yet?”

Xu Yuan lowered her eyes, “Not yet.”

“”Is there a traffic jam? Why aren’t you home yet?” Meng Zhengrong asked casually.

“A little bit. I’ll be home soon. Do you have something to tell me?”

“Can’t I just call to chat if there’s nothing urgent?”

“…Oh.”

Meng Zhengrong noticed that Xu Yuan was in a low mood, so he asked, “Are you feeling unwell? What happened?”

Even if Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong were in love now, she wouldn’t tell him about this matter that had weighed on her heart for years, let alone now. After a moment of silence, she replied, “No, just feeling a bit irritable because of the hot weather.”

Meng Zhengrong looked at his schedule, “I should be able to get off work early this Friday. How about we go swimming?”

Xu Yuan, preoccupied with other thoughts, didn’t really hear Meng Zhengrong’s words and responded absent-mindedly.

After hanging up, Meng Zhengrong thought about going swimming with Xu Yuan on Friday, a good chance to show off his physique. Looking at the food in front of him, he decided to skip the meat and just eat the vegetables.

Better to make a last-minute effort than none at all.

“Let’s go.” Xu Yuan saw that she had been there for twenty minutes and reluctantly told the driver.

“Yes, ma’am.” The driver didn’t dare delay for a moment.

As the window closed, the heatwave disappeared, replaced by the air conditioning’s coolness. Her body felt comfortable, but her heart sighed deeply.

She didn’t know how long her enthusiasm and perseverance would last. Maybe she would be completely disappointed after a few days and would never do such a stupid thing in the driver’s eyes again, right?

She hadn’t been able to completely forget that person and those events in her past life. In this life, could she possibly let go of her inner obsessions?

Xu Yuan didn’t know.

= =

Thursday was a rare cool day in the summer.

There were no signs of rain in the weather forecast, but the temperature suddenly dropped by a few degrees. A City wasn’t known as one of the hottest cities in the country, so even a slight drop in temperature was noticeable.

Sister Zhou was preparing to start her maternity leave. Her due date was in just over two weeks, and since she was considered an older mother, her family suggested she take her leave early.

Meng Zhengrong was a fairly decent boss, generously approving her maternity leave.

This was another difference between Meng Zhengrong and the Emperor. The Emperor wasn’t so lenient with his officials. On the contrary, as his illness worsened, he became increasingly tyrannical. Although he always trusted Xu Yuan, in the last two years, Xu Yuan had to be extra cautious around him.

Meng Zhengrong, however, was different. Whether it was to retain Sister Zhou or for other reasons, he gave her an additional two months of maternity leave and even promised her two years of breastfeeding leave.

Sister Zhou was packing her things, and Xu Yuan was helping her. The office was empty except for the two of them.

After a while, Sister Zhou casually asked, “Xiao Yuan, do you prefer the finance department or the public welfare project department?”

Xu Yuan knew her answer was important, so she half-jokingly replied, “Personally, I prefer the finance department, but given my status as Mrs. Meng, the public welfare project department might be more important.”

“You learn very quickly. I’ve heard from Mr. Meng that you had no prior knowledge in this field. Your work and learning abilities are strong, so I suggest that if you have time, you should learn related knowledge and develop in this area.”

Xu Yuan had considered this and was contemplating whether to enroll in a class.

Before leaving, Sister Zhou hesitated and said, “Xiao Yuan, after spending time with you, I feel we get along well. I’m ten years older than you, and I guess I have some experience…”

Xu Yuan sensed that Sister Zhou wanted to say something, so she quietly nodded.

“I’ve been married for several years. In modern terms, I’ve gone through the seven-year itch. Over the years, I’ve concluded that as women, despite all the talk about gender equality, it doesn’t really exist. In many situations, women have fewer rights than men, sometimes none at all. We are independent individuals, and if possible, we should not rely on anyone, not even parents, husbands, or children. Ultimately, we can only rely on ourselves, so we must continually improve and enrich ourselves. What do you think?”

Sister Zhou was speaking tactfully. She had worked at Meng Corporation for several years, and even as a junior employee in the finance department, she had heard of Meng Zhengrong’s illustrious past.

Although Meng Zhengrong had become more low-key now, Sister Zhou believed that old habits die hard. Such stories were not uncommon in wealthy families. Given her good relationship with Xu Yuan and seeing her young age, she wanted to offer some advice.

Xu Yuan understood Sister Zhou’s good intentions and didn’t want to argue. She just smiled and nodded, “Sister Zhou, I understand many things, or I wouldn’t have come to work at the company in the first place.”

Sister Zhou was pleased, “It’s good that you understand.”

After Sister Zhou left, Xu Yuan returned to her office. She sat on the sofa in a daze for a while until Meng Zhengrong came in. He closed the office door behind him, and seeing Xu Yuan lost in thought, he calmly pulled down the blinds.

Xu Yuan’s office had frosted glass, so her colleagues outside could see inside.

“What are you doing?” Xu Yuan snapped out of it, got up, and walked around Meng Zhengrong, looking at the lowered blinds in exasperation.

They weren’t going to do anything, but this situation made it seem like they were, causing potential misunderstandings.

“I want my employees to focus on their work,” Meng Zhengrong said boldly.

Xu Yuan felt that raising the blinds now would only draw more suspicion, so she gave up and sat in her office chair. Thinking about Sister Zhou’s words, she became curious and asked, “Have you had many girlfriends before?”

Meng Zhengrong was taken aback by the question, not understanding why the conversation had suddenly shifted to this topic that made him feel incredibly guilty.

Although what he did before marriage had nothing to do with her, since he didn’t know his future wife would be her, hearing her ask this question made Meng Zhengrong feel like he was a student caught daydreaming in class by the teacher, with his heart in his throat.

She wouldn’t bring up old scores at the company, would she?

Meng Zhengrong awkwardly laughed, “Why are you asking this?”

Xu Yuan glanced at him, “Is this question difficult to answer?”

“No,” Meng Zhengrong quickly shook his head, “I haven’t had many, just a few.”

Seeing Meng Zhengrong looking so nervous, Xu Yuan felt like teasing him and continued sternly, “A few? How many exactly?”

What’s the standard answer to this kind of question? Two? Three? How would he remember!

Okay, assuming he had one relationship per year, excluding the childhood ones, and considering five or six years of being single, let’s say four!

No, wait, isn’t four too many?

For someone his age, four shouldn’t be too many, right?

“How many?” Xu Yuan asked again.

Forget it, let it be. It’s all in the past anyway.

“Three.” He initially wanted to say four but somehow reduced it by one.

Xu Yuan nodded, indicating she understood.

Her reaction was too calm. She didn’t even ask about the details of his past relationships, which made Meng Zhengrong more anxious.

Meng Zhengrong thought for a moment and asked, “Don’t you have anything to say about this?”

“Say what?” Xu Yuan spread out the documents and glanced at him, “Besides, I know you’re lying.”

“Lying?” Meng Zhengrong felt guilty but maintained a serious expression, “I’m not lying. Every word is true.”

True my foot.

Xu Yuan didn’t want to argue, “By the way, what are you doing here?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that I need to work late tonight.”

Before Meng Zhengrong finished speaking, Xu Yuan nodded, “Got it, so I’ll go home by myself after work.”

“No, I mean, I want you to stay and work late with me. It won’t be too late, around seven o’clock.”

Xu Yuan frowned, “For what?”

Why ask her to stay late? Was there something important?

“Nothing special, I just want to eat out, and there’s a movie I want to see that just came out. I heard it’s good, and I want to go and relax.”

**