Embarra.s.sment
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Upon exiting the car, Yang Chen opened the door with his key before walking into the living hall. All of these were done in an incredibly quick manner.
Although he informed them that he would come home today, the two women who were watching television at home were surprised to see his sudden emergence.
However, Lin Ruoxi wasn’t among them. They were Hui Lin and w.a.n.g Ma who were resting at home. The two were watching a Beijing opera, while w.a.n.g Ma was happily humming along.
Seeing that Yang Chen suddenly burst into the house, w.a.n.g Ma who was immersed in the TV show patted her chest while she scolded smilingly, “Young Master, you’re causing too huge of a commotion. You’re coming home like Sun Wukong causing a havoc in heaven.”
[TL note: Sun Wukong is a reference to the cla.s.sical novel Journey to the West from the 16th century.]
w.a.n.g Ma’s metaphor is so vivid… Nervously, Yang Chen looked around as he sweated. He asked, “Where’s Ruoxi? She should’ve come back ages ago. Is she still on holidays? Did she go to work again?”
Hui Lin felt weird that the first thing Yang Chen did upon coming home was asking for Lin Ruoxi’s whereabouts, while he was the one who brought up the divorce first. Why is he a husband who misses his wife now?
“Elder Sister went to a small town to inspect a factory. She said there was a strike of workers,” Hui Lin said.
Yang Chen frowned. Factory? Strike?
w.a.n.g Ma sighed and said, “She left less than an hour ago. Young Master, you would’ve been able to see her if you came home earlier.”
Yang Chen vaguely felt that something wasn’t quite right. Since Yu Lei International manufactured a broad range of products, naturally there were numerous factories. However, how was it possible that Lin Ruoxi, the CEO of Yu Lei, needed to personally inspect the lowest level of management?
“w.a.n.g Ma, tell me what happened briefly,” Yang Chen said.
w.a.n.g Ma nodded, and explained the general situation to him.
A clothing factory among tens of other factories under Yu Lei International had delayed payments of wage distribution right before Chinese New Year.
The reason the factory gave was a lack of finance, since they had sustained losses this year. However, most employees refused to believe them, and started intercepting the management, in addition to causing problems to the leaders of the district.
Most of these employees were migrants who came to work in Zhonghai. They wanted to take bring money home for the festival. There was less than a month left until Chinese New Year started, while they hadn’t received half of their yearly wages yet. This naturally caused them to stop working.
Lin Ruoxi originally didn’t have to deal with this problem, but Yu Lei International started their year-end rotating vacation. The few managers of the marketing and human resource departments were coincidentally absent, while the others weren’t qualified enough to deal with such issues.
The problem ended up being known to Lin Ruoxi. She pondered over the matter and eventually decided to go over personally to take care of the situation.
“Actually, Miss Qianni said she’d go there earlier, but for some reason Miss didn’t want to stay at home, so she took up the task herself,” w.a.n.g Ma said helplessly.
Didn’t want to stay at home?
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. Isn’t she straight-up avoiding me since she’s unwilling to see me? Furthermore, she was on her holidays recently, so she purposely looked for a reason to leave the house to stay away from me.
“Did she go alone?” Yang Chen asked.
“Who else could she have gone with? Miss said she could take care of it, so the other supervisors didn’t dare to go against her will,” w.a.n.g Ma said.
Yang Chen felt rather anxious. His worry for Lin Ruoxi was far beyond what he expected. He couldn’t even sit still currently.
The problem of hundreds of outraged factory employees on the lowest level wasn’t something a young lady like her could deal with. The other party wasn’t well-educated. They wouldn’t reason properly. All they wanted was money, while nothing else could be discussed. If the problem were so easily taken care of, local government officials would have solved it long ago. Why would the headquarters be forced to send someone over?
Moreover, despite having an exceptional mind in the business world, her emotional intelligence was obviously low. Otherwise she wouldn’t have to entrust the task of attending every social event to the human relations department, and she would have more than just a few friends. Dealing with the uneducated, violent people at a place full of sly acts was more difficult for her than to step into heaven.
The more Yang Chen thought about it, the more worried he got. He asked w.a.n.g Ma, “Which district is Ruoxi going to?”
“Oh, it’s Yuping District. It’ll take an hour’s time if you drive there from Zhonghai, but the roads aren’t well-built, and there are many small villages. I bet you’ll take two hours,” w.a.n.g Ma said.
Yang Chen stood up and said, “I’m quite worried about her. It’s better that I follow her there to take a look. w.a.n.g Ma, don’t wait for me for dinner.”
“Brother Yang, can I go as well? I’m worried about Elder Sister as well.” Hui Lin’s big, watery eyes were filled with concern.
Yang Chen thought for a while before shaking his head. “I won’t be at ease if w.a.n.g Ma is home alone. It’s better that you keep her company. You’re a lady after all, you wouldn’t induce fear there even if you went.”
Hui Lin knew that what Yang Chen said was true. She couldn’t just take out her sword and shout, “The magnificent heroine is here, you shall all obey me.” Furthermore, she didn’t bring her sabre with her when she left the mountain, so she didn’t continue asking.
Yang Chen’s BMW had an inbuilt GPS system, while Lin Ruoxi’s car naturally had one as well. So Yang Chen wasn’t worried that he’d fail to locate her. If he drove slightly faster, it was even possible for him to catch up to her.
Before leaving, he asked for the name of the factory. It was Yuping Garment. After typing in the address, Yang Chen departed immediately.
After around twenty minutes, he drove into the provincial roads of the outskirts. There were numerous intersections during the journey, so it was hard to drive fast. People and non-motor vehicles would cross the road often.
Judging from how well Yang Chen knew Lin Ruoxi, he guessed that she definitely didn’t dare to drive so quickly. This made his chances of catching up to her higher.
However, Yang Chen still underestimated the ‘fate’ between him and Sister Lin.
After around fifteen minutes, Yang Chen entered a rural area at the edge of Zhonghai. In front of a small supermarket, Yang Chen suddenly noticed that Lin Ruoxi’s red Bentley was parked there.
Yang Chen parked his car at the front of the supermarket. He got down from his car and searched the surroundings, but failed to locate Lin Ruoxi’s figure.
As he was planning to ask around in the supermarket, a tall lady making a phone call whose black hair was scattered on her shoulders walked out from there. She was wearing a beige British-style coat and holding a brown Gucci handbag.
Yang Chen revealed a bright smile as he discovered the familiar, incredibly cold face, before waving at Lin Ruoxi.
Lin Ruoxi was talking on phone while frowning slightly. When she noticed Yang Chen’s sudden appearance, she almost forgot to speak as her body stiffened.
After a few seconds, Lin Ruoxi ended the call before walking towards Yang Chen without speaking a word. She was staring at Yang Chen, as if trying to study something.
Yang Chen was rather confused when he was gazed upon. Smiling awkwardly, he said, “Although I don’t think I’m ugly, I don’t feel that I’m very handsome as well. I’ll feel proud if you look at me like this.”
Lin Ruoxi utterly ignored Yang Chen’s joke. Coldly, she asked, “Who asked you to come here?”
“Wifey Ruoxi, how can I be at ease when you’re dealing with this group of men in a small town…” Yang Chen said honestly.
“Mr Yang, please mind your words. Who’s your wife now?” Lin Ruoxi’s cheeks were just like frosts, while her gaze acted like a knife which pierced through Yang Chen’s face. “Also, whether or not I can deal with them is none of your business. We’re merely a married couple tied by contract. We’re getting divorced in a few months’ time, you better keep your distance from me. I don’t want to see you.”
Yang Chen felt embarra.s.sed, but didn’t get angry. This was what he expected. Directly, he asked, “Aren’t you going to Yuping District? Why did you stop here?”
“Mind your own business. You may go back now, I’ll deal with my own problems,” Lin Ruoxi said before turning around and walking back into the supermarket.
Yang Chen felt rather helpless. He walked around the car and immediately found out the problem. One of the front tyres of the Bentley was pierced by a nail!
Something like this was inevitable on the roads of a suburb. No wonder Lin Ruoxi couldn’t continue her journey anymore.
Although Bentley couldn’t be considered an extremely rare car, its wheels still couldn’t be repaired by just any mechanic. Moreover, even a motorcycle repair shop wasn’t necessarily present at the small village they were in.
Yang Chen rushed over and asked Lin Ruoxi, “Have you contacted the repair shop yet?”
Although Lin Ruoxi wasn’t willing to entertain Yang Chen, she wasn’t an unreasonable and insane woman. So when Yang Chen asked a serious question, she’d answer him. Coldly, she said, “Wu Yue already sent someone over to load the car.”
“How about you? After the car is brought away, are you going to stay here?”
“I’ll ask someone to pick me up,” Lin Ruoxi replied coldly.
“Why do you want to ask someone else? I’m here already,” Yang Chen said.
“I want to get to Yuping.”
“I’ll bring you there. I can be your mini a.s.sistant in addition to a part time bodyguard. You know that I can fight very well, those people won’t be able to get near you.” Yang Chen winked at Lin Ruoxi.
Lin Ruoxi pondered his suggestion for a while. She didn’t plan to forgive Yang Chen so quickly and break the ice. However, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid to head to a low-level factory to face thousands of employees. Lin Ruoxi was certainly worried about the a violent outbreak.
Even when Lin Ruoxi thought Yang Chen wouldn’t be too big of a help, two people were still stronger than one. If Wu Yue wasn’t on her holidays, Lin Ruoxi would definitely bring her along.
“This is only because you want to go. I didn’t force you to come with me,” Lin Ruoxi added. She didn’t want Yang Chen feel that she needed company.
Yang Chen smiled in his heart. She’s still holding onto her pride. He said, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m going as an employee of the company, and not because of personal matters. Is Boss Lin satisfied now?”
Lin Ruoxi knew that her thoughts were exposed. Blus.h.i.+ng, she snorted coldly and turned her head away to cover her awkwardness.
However, after she put up the act, her stomach started rumbling…
Lin Ruoxi pressed onto her belly hurriedly. She immediately flushed, causing her face to be so red that water threatened to burst from there…
d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it! Why do I have to embarra.s.s myself in front of this fellow so many times in a row?!
Yang Chen was stunned as well. He immediately knew that Lin Ruoxi didn’t have lunch before leaving the house. Seeing her gloomy look, he smiled and said, “What’s there to be shy about? Even if you’re a CEO and a beauty, you’re still a human being after all. Everyone has to eat, otherwise their stomachs would shout. This is the same logic as any human being would fart.”
Lin Ruoxi bit her lower lip tightly, and acted as if she heard nothing. However, she felt rather relieved in her heart. She had never felt this much shame in front of a guy. Her attempts on covering her malfunctioned tyre and pride were exposed, while her stomach was so hungry that it growled… It was too pathetic.
Yang Chen didn’t laugh at her. Something like this which was insignificant to others would be taken seriously by Lin Ruoxi whose self-esteem was high, especially in front of him. Therefore, he smiled relaxedly and said, “Let’s go inside the supermarket and get some food.”
Read c345 here.