Chapter 3 A Petal of the Millennium

Chapter 3 A Petal of the Millennium

Chen Wan looked like her, but his temperament was entirely different—gentle and introverted. His once flamboyant beauty and youthful charm had matured into subtlety and steadiness.

Chen Wan walked over and helped her extinguish the cigarette, saying, "How about moving out? If you don’t want to live with me, I can find another place for you, a duplex or a villa."

"I’ll handle him."

This wasn’t the first time Chen Wan had made such a suggestion. Song Qingmiao got emotional, her eyes reproachful and confused. "Why should I leave? I won’t go. I’ll die here if I don’t get what belongs to us."

Chen Wan was silent for a moment, then calmly told her, "Even if you die, he won’t give it to you."

"Then we’ll take it ourselves," Song Qingmiao grabbed Chen Wan’s hand. "Baby, Mom only has you left. You need to be more ambitious."

Chen Wan opened his mouth, looking at the forever-young 'girl,' but stayed silent.

The resentment Song Qingmiao couldn’t let go of—she had once been so glorious, the millennium was her peak, radiant, sought-after, and famous all over the city.

At that time, the city was filled with strikingly beautiful women, but Song Qingmiao was like a petal of a lotus in the heart of a Jiangnan lake. Men in the world of fame and fortune flocked to her like wolves to honey.

Yet she was like a jewel on a man’s cuff, a symbol of wealth and power—something to be admired but not to be placed in the family hall.

Passing her around was fine, but taking her in was not.

Men chased her, yet looked down on her.

The game of passing the flower ended with Chen Bingxin, and even the most beautiful woman became a joke.

Chen Wan was also an unacknowledged joke, requiring three paternity tests before he was reluctantly brought back to the Chen residence amidst the city’s gossip.

Chen Wan had been patiently working hard for so long, all for the day he could finally escape this prison and step into that person’s world openly.

Freedom and peace were luxuries Chen Wan had longed for since childhood.

But Song Qingmiao wanted more—money, fame, and the glory of her millennium era.

Chen Wan knew he couldn’t achieve that, but he also couldn’t abandon Song Qingmiao for his own freedom.

When he was eleven, in the winter, he was delirious with a high fever in the mental hospital, near death. It was Song Qingmiao who rushed in with scissors and saved him.

Did Song Qingmiao love him?

Not deeply, but there was some love.

Not much, but it was the only love Chen Wan had in this world, so it was precious, and he still wanted to cherish it.

After a long silence, Chen Wan asked, "How much money do you need? I can earn it."

Song Qingmiao spoke softly but with disdain, "How much can you make?" She suddenly leaned in close to Chen Wan, whispering secretively, "Baby, Xie Jiajian has been asking me out recently."

Chen Wan paused, his temple twitching, and said sternly, "Don’t go!"

Song Qingmiao seemed somewhat proud of proving she still had her charm. Chen Wan frowned, "Don’t go. He’s married; he’s not sincerely pursuing you."

Seeing her indifference, Chen Wan pleaded earnestly, "The Rongxin board is undergoing a reshuffle recently. He’s just trying to get information from you and increase his shares." Xie Jiajian was a director at Rongxin, having worked his way up under Chen Bingxin decades ago.

Song Qingmiao had been beautiful but naive since her youth. Beauty without the matching intellect often led to disaster. She pouted, "What does sincerity matter? I’m not sincere either."

"I’m just going to have a meal with him, to see if he has any way to help you get into Rongxin."

"Then it's even less necessary," Chen Wan said firmly. "I won't join Rongxin. I have my own things to do."

Song Qingmiao was somewhat angry: "What things? You're just drifting aimlessly all day. Liao Zhihe just held a celebration banquet for his promotion to general manager the other day. You've been out of school for years and haven't even stepped into the branch company's door. I’m so worried about you that I can’t sleep at night."

Liao Zhihe was the nephew of the second wife, Liao Liu. Rongxin used to be Chen Bingxin's personal fiefdom, but after he underwent two heart bypass surgeries, the power shifted, primarily divided between the first wife, Cao Zhi, and the third wife, Sui Yu.

The second wife, Liao Liu, sucked up to the first wife, Cao Zhi, to get a piece of the pie. All the wives resented Song Qingmiao for her youth, beauty, and questionable background, so they joined forces to suppress her.

The legitimate children and the illegitimate relatives were fiercely competing for power within Rongxin, but Chen Wan always stayed out of it.

But he didn’t dare tell Song Qingmiao the details, otherwise those assets would soon be squandered at the casino or on the gambling table.

Chen Wan helped her tidy up the messy jewelry box, cleaned the cigarette butts from the ashtray, and opened the window for ventilation.

"You don’t need to worry about me. Focus on taking care of yourself—that’s what matters most—"

Someone knocked on the door: "Fourth Madam, the master requests your presence for dinner."

Song Qingmiao and Chen Wan exchanged glances and fell silent. Chen Wan said in a deep voice, "Alright."

By the time they went downstairs, everyone had already begun the appetizers.

Chen Wan sat in an inconspicuous seat at the end and saw the servants bringing iced jelly and lotus root duck soup to the table, only then remembering that it was the Ghost Festival.

The fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month, known as the Ghost Festival, is when people in Haishi like to make soup. Duck soup is made for its homophonic meaning of 'suppressing' ghosts, hence 'suppressing ghosts on the Ghost Festival.'

Here, this lesser-known traditional festival is considered more important than the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Those in the business world dabble in feng shui.

The walls were decorated with offerings to the Eight-faced God and Mazu, with incense constantly burning. The willow wood cabinets, the thick floral carpet, and the green vines creeping up the windows made the dining room feel gloomy and oppressive, ruining one's appetite.

The family gathered around a round table, evoking 'The Last Supper,' in a somber mood. The flashes of lightning and thunder at the end of the typhoon illuminated the subtle expressions on everyone's faces.

Each harbored their own thoughts, yet they laughed and chatted, discussing Haishi's recent politics, economy, stocks, and horse racing, flattering one another while secretly vying for advantage.

Most of the younger generation had returned from studying abroad and gone straight into Rongxin. Back then, Chen Wan had received better offers than most, but he didn't go abroad and stayed in Haishi to study at Keda.

Later, he didn't pursue the graduate studies he was offered. Chen Wan didn't have that much time; he needed to transition from academia to the cutthroat world of business as quickly as possible.

His peers were confidently presenting several Rongxin projects to Chen Bingxin, each showing off their prowess. The second and third wives beamed with pride, while Song Qingmiao looked visibly annoyed, twirling her bracelet and sipping bird's nest soup.

Chen Wan calmly ate the salad in front of him, unperturbed.

He had no interest in the Chen family’s wealth and was even wary of getting entangled.

The economy was stagnant, and Haishi’s urban development was shrinking. Land approval policies were not as lenient as before. The once booming real estate market was nearing saturation. Rongxin had always relied on traditional industries as its profit pillar, using land expansion to quench its thirst. The family-style management was outdated, and they had never considered industrial transformation. It would be a miracle if those projects didn’t end up abandoned.

After leaving Keda, Chen Wan targeted the energy technology sector, which few had ventured into. With the rapid changes in the economic landscape, the future would undoubtedly be a resource war.

As it turned out, he bet correctly.

Former students with top university diplomas were now being laid off from investment banks and real estate companies, while Chen Wan, who stayed at Keda, founded the now highly valuable Kexiang Technology.

Though Kexiang was modest in size, its profits were substantial. Chen Wan insisted on registering as a silent partner. His senior partner said he was playing the fool to make a fortune quietly.

Chen Wan smiled: "Isn't it good to give you money?"

Money wasn't the most important thing; what mattered was that he had truly cracked open a seam into that person's world.

Though modest, it was a ladder he built from the ground up, brick by brick.

Chen Wan kept his head down, sipping his soup, while Song Qingmiao, annoyed by his lack of presence, shot him a meaningful glance. Chen Wan kept eating, head still down.

"..." Song Qingmiao felt like even the bird's nest was stuck in her throat.

Someone brought up Zhao Shengge, whose return to the country had been a major event that shook the city. Chen Wan’s spoonfuls of soup slowed slightly.

Chen Yu, the eldest son of the main family, mentioned that whether it was the Zhao family or Zhao Shengge’s friends and partners hosting the welcome banquet, Rongxin had never received an invitation. He asked his father, Chen Bingxin, if they should have someone pull some strings.

Chen Bingxin’s expression darkened. In the city, he was a well-established figure with a solid reputation.

Though decades older than Zhao Shengge, he didn’t dare blame him and instead vented his frustration on his eldest son: "Do I really have to spell this out for you?"

Chen Yu quickly agreed, though he felt wronged. Was Zhao Shengge someone they could just waltz up to?

Out of the dozen or so events, Zhao Shengge had shown up less than a tenth of the time.

Chen Jin from the second branch, who was skilled at reading the old man’s mind, sneered: "The crown prince has been playing with dollars for years. He probably doesn’t give a damn about this little corner of the city anymore." Otherwise, he wouldn’t be putting on such a show.

Chen Bingxin tapped his cane for effect and warned: "What nonsense!"

Chen Jin wasn’t afraid and stopped talking. The second wife smiled and added half a bowl of soup for her son.

Liao Quan, the second wife’s brother and Chen Jin’s uncle, was always the one to smooth things over. He chuckled and said: "No matter who he deals with or how powerful he is, he’ll still need to put down roots in the city. I heard some rumors from Minglong. I think not only Rongxin should seize the opportunity, but the young ladies should also put some thought into it. If they hit the jackpot, it’d be more than just networking."

At this, the daughters of each family lowered their heads shyly, but their eyes and brows couldn’t hide their thoughts and expectations.

They might not necessarily be greedy for anything from the Zhao family, but Zhao Shengge's face alone was enough to make every girl in the city dream sweetly.

Chen Bingxin's expression relaxed a bit, probably thinking that with so many beautiful daughters in his family, there was no way none of them had a chance.

The uncle from the main family couldn’t stand Liao Quan’s clever talk and said: "Isn’t it too early to say that, Mr. Liao? There’s still the Xu family ahead."

Miss Xu, who was rumored to be engaged to Zhao Shengge.

Chen Bingxin didn’t want to hear them bicker and wanted to maintain a bit of hope for himself. He said to the uncle: "Xingyong, a man won’t have just one."

No one at the table found this statement strange.

Chen Wan put down his spoon, and the long handle made a "ding" sound as it hit the porcelain bowl. He wiped his lips with a napkin.

The half bowl of old duck soup he had just drunk was a bit sour, and even after drinking several sips of tea, he still felt uncomfortable. He couldn’t leave the table, or else the boring arguments would turn towards Song Qingmiao.

Using Song Qingmiao to keep Chen Wan in line was something everyone in the house knew and relished.

Hearing Chen Bingxin say this, everyone at the table, men and women, old and young, felt very hopeful and started laughing and eating happily again.

Author's note:

Song Qingmiao is not a local of the city. She sometimes calls Chen Wan "baby" or "BB."