170 Thoroughly Chilled

"Well, your beloved is getting married, and the groom isn't you. Have you no comment to make on this?" Shao Minghan asked Lu Yichen, who had remained silent all along. His attitude was highly suspicious. Wasn't he in immense agony earlier when he thought Xia Yuwei had a child and a husband? Now that the speculation had practically become reality, he was indifferent instead?

"I have no comment," Lu Yichen replied coldly. "I'm exhausted and just want to rest."

If every time he saw her, she was with a different man; if every time he saw her, it broke his heart to the extreme, yet he could not stop loving her, then he had no choice but to render himself incapable of letting her hurt him ever again.

At this moment, his heart was numb.

Who told him to love such a woman? He had always been entirely sincere with her, never minding family backgrounds or social classes. He had bared his true heart to her completely, but when had she ever truly cherished it? Had she ever felt the pain and frustration he suffered for her sake in his heart? In the past, he had been persistent; now, his heart was turning thoroughly cold.

From the beginning of his love for her until now, every single step had been a bitter struggle. Now, he no longer wanted to endure this suffering. Perhaps falling in love with someone to the point of losing oneself was his greatest failure.

From now on, he was Lu Yichen, not someone she could summon and dismiss at a whim.

From now on, he was his own man, not a man who lost himself because of love for her.

Shao Minghan looked in astonishment at the expressionless Lu Yichen, suddenly sensing a side to him that he had never truly understood.

***

Biyuan Villa.

Bai Yixuan was waiting for Lu Yichen in the living room. She was deeply worried that he would stay out all night again.

The door opened, and Lu Yichen walked in. Seeing her curled up on the sofa, he frowned and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Brother Chen, how could you bear to come back?" Seeing Lu Yichen appear, Bai Yixuan immediately tossed aside her throw pillow and leaped up from the sofa. She was both reproachful and delighted, her eyes turning red.

"This is my home; if I don't come back here, where should I go?" Lu Yichen changed his shoes and walked inside, his expression remarkably aloof.

"Brother Chen, can you please not stay out all night in the future? You've made me so worried," Bai Yixuan said with a pitiful air. If she were to marry him in the future, would she have to endure this kind of life? Absolutely not! She would deal with his other women outside one by one!

"Yixuan, a man's affairs are not for you to manage. When you have time, read your books more often," Lu Yichen said as he walked toward his own bedroom, leaving a desolate Bai Yixuan standing dazed downstairs.

***

After the dinner gathering, Xia Yuwei and her group also returned home to rest.

"Mommy has to go to work tomorrow and won't be back until six or seven. Yufan, will you be okay at home by yourself?" Xia Yuwei instructed Xia Yufan before bedtime.

"Of course I will!" Xia Yufan puffed out his chest like a little man. Mommy was working hard out there to support the family; how could he let her worry?

Xia Yuwei squatted down and stroked Xia Yufan's hair. "My son is such a good boy. How about this tomorrow morning? I'll prepare lunch and put it in the fridge, so you can take it out and reheat it when you're hungry. Understand?" In previous summer vacations, she would take him everywhere, but starting this year, that might no longer be possible.

"Don't worry, Mommy." Xia Yufan kissed Xia Yuwei on the cheek and hugged her neck. Overjoyed, Xia Yuwei scooped him up in her arms and carried him all the way to his bedroom. She even stayed with him for a while until he fell asleep, lingering by his bedside to feel his presence.

Her son was back, and it felt so good. For the half a month he had been away, she had grown accustomed to coming into his bedroom every day to take a look, sometimes even lying down on his bed. He was her very life. In moments like this, she would naturally think of her own parents, putting herself in their shoes. The feelings they must have had when giving birth to and raising her back then were surely identical to hers now. On the days she was away from home, how much her parents must have missed her; when she suffered grievances, how much her parents' hearts must have ached for her...

Returning to her own bedroom, she found that the room, which had been messy that morning, had long since been tidied into immaculate order. The air still seemed to carry the lingering scent of unbridled passion and his presence. Only at times like this would a crack open in her heart to think of him. It felt as though her heart were being tugged by a thin, fine thread, aching and sour all at once.

What kind of person was he, really? She thought she understood him, yet she also seemed to understand him the least. Since he had left, why did he keep coming back again and again to provoke her now? What did that mean? Was she supposed to indulge in wishful thinking and subject herself to his fickle nature all over again?

...

***

Baili Group Senior Executive Conference Room.

The four-member team specializing in acquisitions and financial investment gathered here to report to Lu Yichen on the operational methods and status following the acquisition of Yida Group.

"...Yida's financial condition is basically sound, its hardware facilities have been updated and upgraded, and in terms of personnel, redundant staff have been downsized, while our company's supervisory personnel have been planted among the senior ranks... We believe it will get back on track after some time... President Lu, that is basically the summary of Yida's situation."

While listening to the presentation by the head of the special project team, Yichen reviewed the reports they had handed over. By the time the speaker finished, he had also finished reading. He closed the report and set it aside.

"This case was beautifully handled. Everyone has worked hard."

"Next, I am giving you a new assignment: conduct a financial evaluation of Jiuwei and consider matters related to its acquisition!"