Take The Blame
“d.a.m.n it…they’re dedicated to their job.”
Yang Chen wanted to curse. The paparazzi busted the tyres of Lin Ruoxi’s Bentley so that they couldn’t leave the car park!
Yang Chen didn’t see this coming, how did they even find out about Lin Ruoxi’s car?
Lin Ruoxi saw the situation and she wasn’t sure how to react to it, “It’s fine, we’ll just drive your car.”
“But we need to cross the road. Aren’t you afraid someone will block our way?” Yang Chen smiled.
“Can’t you go over yourself and drive the car over?” Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t think of this. Ruoxi darling, you’re really smart!”
“Enough, stop teasing me.” Lin Ruoxi knew he was trying to cheer her up but it wouldn’t work.
Around ten minutes later, the two of them steered away from the group of fanatic fans and went on the highway.
On their way home, Lin Ruoxi stayed silent as if she was deep in thought.
Yang Chen didn’t interrupt her, a.s.suming that she was thinking about Hui Lin’s matter.
Lanlan had just returned home from kindergarten when they arrived. She was holding a dozen lamb skewers and there was another bag of fried chicken nuggets with Minjuan.
She was bouncing up and down with lips covered in grease and chilli powder.
Lanlan stuck out her tongue sheepishly when she saw her parents. With a blushed cheek, she tried to sneak into the house.
Even though Lin Ruoxi never stopped her daughter from eating roadside snacks, she didn’t allow her to buy a bunch of it at once.
Minjuan wasn’t expecting her to return so quickly. It was really awkward for her and she tried to explain herself, “President Lin, I bought this for myself. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Lin Ruoxi wasn’t in the mood to talk about this and she walked over to carry Lanlan.
Lanlan opened her eyes wide and said in a soft voice, “Mommy, Lanlan will listen to you…I won’t buy it anymore…don’t be angry…”
Lin Ruoxi smiled at her gently, “Is it tasty?”
Lanlan nodded subconsciously but she quickly shook her head when she realized it was the wrong answer.
“You can have it if you want. I want you to be a good girl, it doesn’t mean I won’t let you eat it. You can eat whatever you like, just tell Aunt Minjuan to buy it for you. Don’t waste money and you have to finish it if you bought it. Do you understand?” Lin Ruoxi said with a stern expression.
Yang Chen and Minjuan were taken aback by her change in att.i.tude. When did she become so open-minded?
Lanlan was overjoyed and she nodded with a sweet smile, “You’re the best, mommy!”
Lin Ruoxi pinched her cheeks and asked, “When’s your holiday?”
Lanlan tried to recall, “In six more days!”
“It’s almost time then. Should I bring you out? We can go anywhere to eat good food.” Lin Ruoxi said.
Lanlan brightened up at her suggestion but Lin Ruoxi continued with a mysterious smile, “Mommy won’t go to work if you’ll be a good kid. I’ll only bring you out if you’re a good kid.”
“Lanlan will be a good kid!” Lanlan promised her.
Yang Chen walked up to Lin Ruoxi when he heard this, “Dear, are you really going to take leave?”
She was always the busiest during the end of the year so why would she suggest bringing Lanlan out for a trip?
Lin Ruoxi looked at him with a deep gaze, “Let’s go in first. I’ll tell you more about it later.”
It sounded weird to him as if Lin Ruoxi had made some sort of decision. Even though he couldn’t really believe her, he still nodded and decided to wait.
Once they got into their warm house, they could finally relax their stiff bodies.
Having a kid certainly made the atmosphere lighter and warmer.
Lin Ruoxi felt better after having a warm shower and dinner with her family.
They watched television together until Lanlan became sleepy. Minjuan carried Lanlan to her room whereas Lin Ruoxi called Yang Chen out to the yard.
Yang Chen was already waiting for her to tell him what she was thinking about. Although she didn’t seem to be in a hurry, strolling around the yard and looking up at the sky instead of talking to him.
Her breath was white from the cold and a sudden sigh escaped her lips after a long silence.
“Hubby, didn’t you tell me before that you’ll listen to all of my requests as long as I’m not forcing you to give up on the other women…”
Yang Chen was startled. He wasn’t expecting her to start the conversation with this sentence.
He contemplated for a while before replying, “I did say that but it doesn’t apply to every request.”
“Are you not going to keep your promise?” Lin Ruoxi furrowed her brows. Anger was creeping up her face.
Yang Chen waved his hands and smiled awkwardly, “If you asked to leave my side, I can’t agree to that. I wouldn’t ignore it if you wanted to bully someone. I can only say that I’ll support you most of the time.”
“I knew you weren’t that generous,” Lin Ruoxi gave him a side-eye, “Let me ask you this. Is it true that you’ll never oppose me regardless of the decisions I make on the operation of Yu Lei International?”
Yang Chen didn’t even think twice about it, “Of course! The company was founded by you and your grandmother. It’s your career and I’ve never thought of intervening.”
Lin Ruoxi nodded and she took a deep breath before saying the next sentence, “If I say…I’m planning to resign and appoint someone else as the President, will you still support my decision?”
Yang Chen was startled. He stared at her blankly and a bitter smile formed on his lips, “I had this suspicion earlier on but I didn’t think you would consider doing this for real…is this truly what you want?”
Lin Ruoxi’s smile was bitter, “I’m really tired. I don’t have the energy to deal with this anymore. After all, I’m still human. I can be heartless towards outsiders but I really don’t know how to face my friends and family at work.”
“Are you doing this because of Hui Lin’s incident?”
“It’s one of the reasons,” Lin Ruoxi sounded resentful, “Be it Qianni or Mingyu, they both hold important positions in the company and I can’t work without them but whenever I think about their relations.h.i.+p with you, I feel a p.r.i.c.k at my heart…even so, because we’re colleagues, I had to control my emotions and pretend as if nothing was wrong. Do you think it’s easy for me?”
Yang Chen’s face became flushed. He had thought about this before but he thought Lin Ruoxi had gotten over it ages ago. It turned out she had been suppressing her emotions all this while.
Lin Ruoxi continued, “Also, if I was an outsider, I would’ve cleared Hui Lin’s work schedule for about half a year to a year before she can reappear in public but I can’t do that. It’s because I’m not only the President, I’m also her sister…how can I treat her coldly? I would be ruining her career if I did that. As the President, I can’t let my employees be spit on and cursed by others but as Hui Lin’s sister, I can’t do anything that will possibly hurt her…I really don’t know how I should deal with this. I’m really tired…I want to rest…”
Yang Chen furrowed his brows and patted her shoulder. He sighed and tried to console her, “I understand your feelings but…if you resigned and gave your position to someone else, they can’t do anything about this either. They’ll only say you chickened out from the pressure.”
“I know, that’s why I’m planning to hold a press conference to publicize our relations.h.i.+p. I want the public to know that Hui Lin is innocent. I want to clear her name and take the responsibility for damaging the company’s image and Hui Lin’s reputation. This way I’ll be able to step down from my position with a valid reason.
Yang Chen refuted her, “What responsibility?! The tabloids are the ones who are responsible for this!”
“But someone has to take the blame. I don’t plan to work anymore so this will be the final thing I can do for Hui Lin. It’s what I can do to make it up to her.” Lin Ruoxi said.
Yang Chen thought her decision was extremely foolish but he couldn’t bring himself to say no. She was right, this would never end unless someone took the blame. Hui Lin would never be able to stand in public proudly unless she stayed hidden from the public forever.
Right at this moment, the door opened and w.a.n.g Ma came running out of the house while shouting frantically, “Miss! Sir! Come in quick! Bad news!”