Chapter 402: The Secret About the Past (20)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Mommy, really?”
“Of course.”
Long Xiaoxi picked up her chopsticks and began eating again. “I’m not chubby, I only have some baby fats,” she murmured to herself.
After dropping the children off at the kindergarten, Mei Yangyang pa.s.sed by a junction on her way back and noticed the news about An Xiaoning confining Mr. Jin plastered across an LED billboard. She then decided to drive towards the Jin Corporation Office Tower.
As expected, there were a ma.s.sive number of reporters at the main entrance.
Mei Yangyang alighted from the car while wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask and entered the elevator straight away.
Two female employees were gossiping between themselves in the elevator.
“It’s all over the internet. It’s said that An Xiaoning encroached our CEO’s position and locked Chairman up in the hospital. Do you think it’s true?” said Employee A.
“I think it must be real. Look what state the company has ended up in the past few days, just because Mr. CEO is not around. Several major clients have terminated their contracts with us or pulled out of ongoing partners.h.i.+ps. I doubt our current female CEO has the ability to resolve these issues,” Employee B answered.
“Yeah, I heard she grew up on the mountains and only rose to riches after getting adopted by the Gu family when she was older. Afterwards, she somehow got together with Mr. CEO. She doesn’t actually have much of an education, nor does she have much knowledge.”
“Well, who knows? Anyway, we’re in no place to worry about those matters.”
Mei Yangyang removed her mask and chastised, “Aren’t you afraid of getting the sack by gossiping about?”
The two female employees turned around to look at her one after another and dared not utter another word, though they did not know who she was.
Upon arriving at the office, Mei Yangyang asked the secretary softly, “Is Sis around?”
“She’s inside.”
Mei Yangyang pushed the door open gently and was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning handling some business matters while seated in front of the desk.
“h.e.l.lo, Sis.”
“You’re here, Yangyang. Have the kids gone to school?” asked An Xiaoning, who appeared rather haggard and fatigued.
“Yes. Have you eaten?”
“No, s.h.i.+xin went out to buy my lunch.” An Xiaoning picked up her teacup and took a few sips before asking, “Have you seen the latest news?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Someone is definitely behind this. It’s either Ye Xiaotian or Xu Youran.” An Xiaoning put down her teacup and stared at Mei Yangyang calmly. “I feel really stressed.”
“I saw a lot of reporters outside. How do you plan to address their questions about Mr. Jin’s father being confined?”
“He was already confined when Qingyan was still around. He’s been fooling around with Chi Rui’er. Now that Qingyan is not around, Chi Rui’er must’ve been manipulated by Xu Youran again. Releasing Father-in-law will only add hail to the snow, nothing good will come out of it. Make a guess about why I’m so certain.”
“Why?”
“Because once we release Father-in-law, he’s going to get back together with Chi Rui’er. It’ll become another piece of scandalous news if Xu Youran then decides to kill Chi Rui’er. Qingyan has already clarified to the media previously and denied the existence of their relations.h.i.+p. That’s how we managed to avoid the scandal back then. So, no matter what, we can’t release Father-in-law for the time being.”
“But Sis, you can’t keep continuing to confine him, can you?” said Mei Yangyang.
“I know I can’t keep letting the matter go on like this, but I don’t have the time or energy now to care about his affairs. The company is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. I must pull through this difficult time. I won’t be going home for a while. Do help me look after Yiheng,” said An Xiaoning, sounding extremely exhausted.
Mei Yangyang nodded and said, “Sis, why don’t I find you some business elites to form an a.s.sistance team of your own. It doesn’t matter how much it may cost, as long as it’ll help you tide through this ordeal. Nothing matters more than that. What do you think?”
An Xiaoning looked up and said, “That’s a great idea, but it’s not that easy to hire business elites.”
“Sis, you have no idea. We don’t have to poach well-known figures from established companies. We can just look for youths who are capable yet not recognized for their abilities. Leave this to me,” said Mei Yangyang as she patted her own chest. “Apart from sending the children to and from school, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I’ll handle it for you.”
An Xiaoning was moved to tears. “Yangyang, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I just want you to be well. Your health is of the utmost importance. I’m going to look for some prospective elites now. I’ll call you again if there are any updates.”
“Alright.”
—
The casualties of the tsunami in N Nation totaled up to a shocking number of more than 50 thousand. Not to mention, a huge financial loss was incurred as well.
What used to be a scenic and beautiful holiday resort turned into a land of ruins overnight.
Apart from the rescue team, there was almost no one else in the area, for most of the citizens had already fled to other regions.
During the time Jin Qingyan fell into the ocean, he was quickly washed away by a huge wave before he could even swim to the surface of the water. Just as he took a breath of fresh air, he was again pushed elsewhere by another wave of tsunami. He felt a strong pressure surging against him and lost consciousness soon after.
Jin Qingyan only opened his eyes again days later.
Noticing that he had opened his eyes, the girl beside him immediately asked, “You’re awake?”
His lips were dry and cracked. After scanning the unfamiliar environment around him, he asked in an extremely hoa.r.s.e voice, “Where am I?”
“This is the disaster relief center. You were unconscious for days. You must be famished and parched. Hold on for a while, I’ll bring you some water.”
Jin Qingyan nodded. At this juncture, he was indeed very thirsty and felt completely sluggish and weak while aching immensely from head to toe.
It could be said that he was currently on the verge of death.
Soon, the girl returned with a bottle of mineral water and a bag of instant noodles in her hands.
She squatted down beside Jin Qingyan and opened the bottle of mineral water before placing it beside his lips. “Drink up, the water is very clean.”
He eagerly gulped the water down and finished the entire bottle in no time.
The girl placed the empty bottle aside and handed him the bag of instant noodles. “We don’t have any other food here, just fill your stomach with his.”
Jin Qingyan took it from her hands and began wolfing the noodles down.
Squatting beside him, the girl said, “You were unconscious for days, so I decided to pour some water into your mouth. You actually woke up, surprisingly.”
“How many days was I asleep for?”
“It’s been six days since I brought you here after discovering that you were still alive. What’s your name?”
“My name is…” Jin Qingyan opened his mouth and stared at her blankly. “I can’t remember.”
“You can’t remember your name? You seem very fluent in the native language here. Are you a local?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your condition is pretty serious then. Could it be because you hurt your head? You were bleeding profusely from your head when I first found you. The doctor gave you several st.i.tches on your head. It’s alright, just take your time to recall slowly. There’s no hurry anyway. My name is Bu Xianxian,” the girl said smilingly.
“Did something happen here?”
“Seems like you really forgot everything. A tsunami occurred here a few days ago and ruined numerous homes within the vicinity of the beach. But fortunately, my family and I were plucking herbs on the mountains at the time and managed to escape the disaster. Heaven must’ve blessed us.”