Su Feng lost his presidency. Though, the company nearly went into an uproar. None of the employees were happy with the new change. None of them knew Su Guiren.
He never once bothered to visit any of the departments while Su Feng treated his employees like friends, more than his colleagues.
It hit the tabloids — Su Feng"s illegitimacy; his "unfitness" to run the company. Song Ren had enough. What"s more, was the there were now pictures leaked of her and Long Huojin at the private charity banquet on some media outlets.
There was a picture of them sipping wine and laughing. The photos were completely out of context as she was merely teasing Long Huojin for denying his feelings for another woman. It made Su Feng look like a joke. But despite everything that was happening. He appeared to be calm as he ate breakfast in front of her.
Song Ren wondered why he didn"t appear too fazed about the situation. How does he keep his cool?
"How are you so calm?" she blurted out.
Su Feng paused, his eyes glancing up at her. "Ren," he called out. She was already looking at him. "What?" she responded.
Su Feng smiled. "After working for the company for years, being a scientist and doctor and all. Do you believe that I would let everything fall from hands without another trick up my sleeve?" Song Ren"s mouth gaped. Was this her man? She never felt more excited. Her eyes beamed. "What are you planning?" she asked him, delighted.
"I can"t tell you," he said. Song Ren crossed her arms. "Why not?" she pouted. Su Feng chuckled because he knew that she did not want to be left out. "It"s better that you don"t know. You"ve already done too much for me," he said.
Song Ren rolled her eyes playfully. "Pretending to date Long Huojin in the meantime is not doing anything at all, besides pleasing my father and his." Su Feng continued to eat slowly. He felt saddened by the fact that his woman was with another man. Even if it was pretend.
"Don"t worry. At least, when this is over. I can be the man who stole you from Long Huojin," he winked. Song Ren threw a few grains of rice at him. He then chuckled. It had been a while since she and Su Feng could have a normal conversation without the weight of expectations and failure around them. Song Ren felt happy. She trusted Su Feng, whatever he was planning, and she would wait for him in the meantime.
Qian Meigui visited Song Sheng at his office for a surprise. The secretary let her in when she saw him focusing on his work. He was wearing a white sleeved, b.u.t.toned-up s.h.i.+rt with a tie around his neck and black pants.
Song Sheng was smoking as he looked out of his office window. Song Sheng wouldn"t regularly smoke unless she was around. So something appeared to have troubled him.
She made some soft sounds so that she didn"t startle him, but so that he could hear someone approaching him. Song Sheng turned around as he took another drag, his eyes widened.
He placed his cigarette in the ashtray, blowing out the smoke as he strode toward her. Song Sheng then embraced her hard, almost knocking the breath from her. He held her head against his chest. "What"s wrong?" she asked him.
"Why is it that you always show up when I need you the most?" he breathed. Qian Meigui"s eyes widened but then softened. She didn"t know what to make of it. Out of all days, she felt like visiting him, and she was not sure why. She even spent an hour outside debating, but she wasn"t sure why she was so afraid since they were already dating.
After a few moments, Song Sheng let go of her. His gaze was deep and sincere. "What"s wrong?" she asked him again. Song Sheng kissed her forehead. "Something"s happened," and he told her the news he received.
The chairman was in the hospital, dying of old age. Song Sheng used to be close with his grandfather when he was younger, even though he and Song Rui weren"t. And when Song Sheng got older and busy, he didn"t visit him as much as he wanted. Now, he was working on many collaborative projects with him, something that he never had the chance to do with even his father.
As soon as she heard what happened, Qian Meigui left the building with Song Sheng, and she drove him to the hospital. Qian Meigui was never close with the chairman, and even he doesn"t know that she wasn"t a real Song.
When they arrived, a nurse escorted them to a private hospital room. It was grand because it was one of the hospitals Song Rui owned, now run by Song Ren"s management team. Before they went in, the nurse informed them that there was nothing more to do and that it was his time.
Qian Meigui held Song Sheng"s hand until they emerged in the room, letting go. Grandfather Song was resting on the bed with a mask over his face. His hair white, peppered with gray.
Song Sheng approached him by the bedside when his grandfather"s eyes lidded open, revealing the stark gold of it. Song Sheng reached out to hold his hand while Qian Meigui stood behind him, stroking his back.
Song Hai removed his oxygen mask, breathing heavily. "Sheng," he spoke softly, his face smiling. "None of the others have come." Song Sheng and Qian Meigui glanced at each other. When they signed the visitor"s sheet, none of the names of the ward were familiar.
"Why?" Song Sheng asked. Song Hai chuckled, but then began a coughing fit. After he regained his breath, he said, "They say it"s too hard for them." He rolled his eyes. "Can you stay with me, Sheng?"
Song Sheng slowly nodded, his face grim. Song Hai glanced over at Qian Meigui, granting her a knowing smile without saying a word.
Song Sheng and Qian Meigui stayed with Song Hai until he peacefully pa.s.sed away in the hospital bed, with the two of them by his side. No one deserved to die alone.
Afterwards, they decided to go to the main house. A place, Song Sheng"s only visited a few times. By the time he arrived, his father was already there. Most members of the Song family were also present. Song Sheng curled his hands into fists, and Qian Meigui desperately wanted to grab them, unclench them, and hold them. But she couldn"t.
As they stepped further into the house, a representative of the family stopped by holding a briefcase. "May I see Song Mei?" she said, not knowing which of them was her.
Qian Meigui glanced up at her, "What? Me?"
The representative then said. "Ah, yes. Mr. Song Hai instructed me to provide you with the will. He says he entrusts you because you"re the lawyer of the family."
Qian Meigui was shocked. Why her?
She stepped forward, approaching the representative. When she opened the will, it was a long one. But she skimmed through them. The doc.u.ment stated that the company shares have split between family members. But there was one particular part that stunned her.
She had to read and re-read the statement. She glanced up at Song Sheng whose eyes were vacant. The other members of the house were anxiously waiting for what she had to say. Judging by their postures, no one was grieving, except for Song Sheng.