This page looks best with JavaScript enabled
72-Ivy Garden
After Min Hui was discharged from the hospital, she moved into Block A of Qingteng Garden, which was Xin Qi's apartment in Bencheng. Before that, he had been on business trips three times in a row—two to Beijing and one to Shanghai—no matter what time the flight was, he would always come back at dusk, stay in the ward with her, and sleep quietly until he fell asleep. Leaving, as if performing some kind of ritual.
Min Hui felt that there was no need for him to do this. There was a nurse for everything, and Zhou Ruji often came here. She was well taken care of. Deep down, of course, she longed to see Xin Qi every day, but she also understood that this was not realistic. The early death of her parents made her accustomed to being independent, especially in the past few years as a single mother, no matter how difficult it is, she has to take care of herself, and she does not have high expectations for the help of others.
Every time he came to the ward, Xin Qi had endless work to do. There was no desk in the ward. Sometimes he would leave a voice message in a low voice, in English for a while in French, American English to the Americans, Oxford accent to the British, and the languages switched seamlessly—she couldn't hear but was fascinated, and listened. fell asleep.
"Why do you come here every day?" she sometimes asked.
"is it not OK?"
"Do you like me?"
He shook his head: "No."
"Then why come here every day?"
"is it not OK?"
"You must like me, right?"
"You think too much, Min Hui."
Just like this, the endless loop.
Sometimes she asks about the progress of the acquisition: "What are you doing lately? Guanchao has been suspended for so long."
A strange expression appeared on his face immediately: "I can't explain my work in a few words, so let me give you an analogy: There are five frogs squatting on a branch by the pond. Four of them decided to jump down. How many are left?"
"One of course," she said.
"wrong."
"what?"
"It's five."
"why?"
"Because 'decision' is one thing, and 'doing' is another." He spread his hands, "I do two things every day: either busy making decisions, or busy doing things."
Min Hui rolled her eyes and sighed at the ceiling: "Talking for a long time means not saying anything."
"So, don't ask, it's not something you can worry about."
Seeing that he was immersed in reading the document again, she gave a low "hey": "By the way, I will pay you back the one million you lent me, and I have another 400,000, a total of 1.4 million, and I will transfer it to you together. You." She pointed to the handbag on the sofa, "I'm afraid you'll need money. The cash check is ready, and it's in that bag."
She knew it was a drop in the bucket, and she could only help so much with her financial ability.
Xin Qi was slightly startled, then smiled: "Well, you are very generous, but you don't need it." Seeing her embarrassment, he added, "Thank you for your kindness."
"Take it easy, don't push too hard, don't be desperate like Su Tian." She looked at him, "I know you're helping me, but I don't want to see you both fall into my hands."
"I'm not helping you, Min Hui." He said lightly, "I just saw Su Tian on you."
The day after he finished saying this, Min Hui moved into Qingteng Garden.
That morning, Xin Qi flew to Beijing to visit an important investor. He originally planned to come back to pick her up at noon, but the plane made an emergency landing in Changsha due to thunder and lightning, and arrived at the hospital at 7 o'clock in the evening.
He looked tired and preoccupied.
According to financial reports, the acquisition battle between Bluebird and Guanchao has entered a stalemate, and both sides are secretly competing. Xin Qi's side, because of the loss of Yuanmao's support, can only find funds everywhere to grit his teeth. Industry insiders commented that in view of Guanchao's consistently good financial performance, as long as Bluebird can survive, it can make a profit even if it doesn't win, and the benefits are even more impressive if it wins. On the tide watch side, life is not easy: the military within the group is shaken, and team members are poached by many parties; overseas funds and banks have postponed loans to stay on the sidelines; dozens of projects have been asked to change terms, delay progress or even terminate cooperation due to equity issues...
Cao Mu said that Xin Qi's financing was not smooth, and so far he has not heard any major news. On the other side of Guanchao, a white knight was found, and it is said that they have already talked about it.
At this critical juncture, Xin Qi insisted on letting Min Hui live in his apartment to recuperate, which was a bit strange. Of course, his apartment is bright and spacious, with complete facilities, many rooms and a large bathroom, which is indeed more convenient for patients. Min Hui didn't want to cause trouble at first, so she didn't object when she thought that she could see Su Quan every day when she moved in. But in my heart I couldn't help but wonder: What kind of identity did she live in? In what capacity do you get along with him? Said to be the child's mother, they were never married. Said it was his girlfriend, but he refused to admit it. If there is no Su Tian, they will probably never know each other in this life.
The current relationship has finally reached a delicate balance, and finally no longer embarrassing each other - Min Hui feels that it is already very good, and the next things can be left to nature.
When they got home, Xin Qi gave up the master bedroom and carried her from the wheelchair to the bed. As soon as he put it down, he suddenly realized that the quilt was not folded, the sheets were not changed, and there was a dent in the pillow.
"It's alright." She lay straight, with a pelvic strap tied around her waist. She felt something under her shoulders, and stretched out her hand to pull it. It was a white vest. Xin Qi hurried over to pick it up, and while throwing it into the laundry basket, he said, "No, it has to be changed. The sheets have been used for a week."
He has a serious cleanliness addiction, but it also depends on the situation. Essentially a perfectionist, he seeks the quality of life, but only in his leisure time. Once busy, he becomes very casual: documents are piled up, clothes are thrown around, and the house can become a chicken coop.
He opened the closet, pulled out a set of white sheets and put them aside. Help her turn her body over gently, roll one side of the old sheet from the edge to the midline, let her roll over, and put on the new sheet quickly. The whole process does not take less than two minutes to get up. She didn't expect him to be so skilled: "Hey, where did you learn this?"
"Learn from the nurses, I've been lying down like this more often than you."
The newly changed sheets smelled of lilies, the fabric was brittle, and lay on it as smooth as silk. Min Hui had lived with Su Quan in this apartment for a while, so she was not unfamiliar. When she thought that they were going to be together every day for the next month, and she couldn't get up easily, she felt a little restrained.
This kind of restraint actually started when I was hospitalized. The solution is to listen to shrimp music and turn up the headphones to avoid cranky thoughts. Or take off the earphones and listen to him, not interrupting whatever you say, just keep nodding in agreement - "Oh really?", "No!", "Yeah.", "Good!" ——For fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing, he took advantage of the topic, and the two of them fought again. At that time, it would be impossible for her to slam the door and leave.
Seeing her lying on the bed without saying a word and rolling her eyes, Xin Qi suddenly asked, "Do you want to go to the toilet? A fully automatic toilet has just been installed in the bathroom."
"In no mood."
"watch TV?"
"In no mood."
"Then what do you want?"
"I don't want to do anything, it's good to lie down, I might fall asleep after a while."
"Okay, I have to work, answer a few important emails, and sit here, don't you mind?"
He was as polite as if this was her apartment, and she had to say, "Please."
Heating is sufficient. He took off his jacket, took off his tie, changed into a pair of slippers, took out the computer from his bag, and sat down on the sofa beside the bed to concentrate on typing.
She happened to be sleeping on the edge of the bed, and they were close enough to smell the citrus on him. As he typed, she tilted her head and stared at him silently. Xin Qi has a beautiful profile: a slender neck, a clear jaw, and a slightly upturned nose, which makes her feel full of yuppie. Sitting relaxed and upright—shoulders stretched, back straight—she thought it would be tiring at one point, had apparently become his second nature.
Twenty minutes later, the email seemed to be finished. He closed the notebook, stretched a lot, and asked, "Do you want something to drink?"
She shook her head and said no, and watched him go to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, return to his seat and drink it slowly, yawning as he drank.
"Where's Su Quan?" she asked, "why haven't you come back yet?"
She remembers having piano lessons today.
"He has a piano performance at night. It ends at half past nine. I asked Shen Han to take him there."
She also wanted to ask a few more questions. On the table beside her, his mobile phone began to vibrate constantly. He glanced at the message on it and said, "I'll go next door to call back."
He stayed in the study for half an hour, the room was dark, and Min Huibai fell asleep bored.
She didn't know how long she had slept, but when she was half asleep, she suddenly felt that someone was talking to her. Suddenly opening his eyes, he saw Xin Qi kneeling on the bed with his legs and pressing her body hard.
"Hey, hey, you can't move around in bed." His voice was soft, barely audible. "The bones aren't ready yet."
She looked at him profusely, thinking she was dreaming: "Huh? What's wrong with me?"
"Are you swimming in your dreams?" He looked at her face, his eyes wandering and exploring, "Showing your teeth and claws?"
"how do you know?"
"You can guess by looking at the pose."
She smiled, and then she felt awake, with a large ice pack on her forehead.
"You have a fever," he said. "Thirty-nine degrees five. I asked the doctor, and the doctor said that if it doesn't go down after a day, I'll go to the hospital."
"The quilt is too thick." Her face was sweaty and damp.
He changed her a light quilt, turned up the heat, and gave her a fever-reducing medicine.
She smelled a scent of coconut bread, remembering that Su Quan liked to eat it, and asked, "Are you making supper?"
"Su Quan is back," Xin Qi said. "I made a fuss and said I was hungry, so I baked one."
As soon as the words fell, there was a child's giggling laughter, a figure rushed over, called "Mom", buried his head in her face, and kissed her hard.
"Mom, mom, does your 'Bang Bang' still hurt?" Su Quan asked.
- "Bang Bang" in American English refers to the buttocks.
"It doesn't hurt, it's long gone," she said softly.
"Mom, mom, are you hungry? Dad baked a lot of bread," Su Quan said, bouncing in front of her, "I'll feed you, okay?"
"Would you?" she said.
"Yes, yes, you used to feed me every day." Su Quan smiled and ran to the kitchen to bring a piece of bread, standing by the bed, breaking it into small pieces and feeding it to her mouth.
At night, he carried her to the bathroom, washed her mouth, washed her face, wiped her body, and after she was done, he carried her back to the bed.
Su Quan was already asleep.
He was sitting on the sofa beside the bed with his hand in his hands, looking at the charts and typing on the calculator.
"Are you counting how much money you have left, Xin Qi?" she asked.
"no."
"Don't worry, if you go broke, just do it with me," she said. "We can make money by writing an app together."
"I don't write apps."
"I can write it. You say I will write it, and I will help you realize it. I think you have a lot of ideas."
"Well, if it really gets to that point, let alone writing an app, I'll do it all selling biscuits."
"It's great to be able to go up and down."
He continued to tap on the calculator. After a while, Min Hui asked again, "Xin Qi, tell me the truth."
"Listen."
"Are you an impulse buy about the acquisition? Have you done sufficient research beforehand? How sure are you?"
"I'm an investor, not a gambler or a speculator. To acquire a listed company, of course, you need to do fundamental research. If I don't have confidence in the earnings, I won't start at all."
"..."
"The development trend has always been growing, so I am very optimistic. Of course, I also value the balance sheet, cash flow, ROE and earnings quality."
"That is to say, this matter has nothing to do with me. You have been eyeing this piece of fat for a long time."
"That's it."
"Am I just being self-indulgent?"
"right."
"That sounds a little hurtful!"
"You asked me to tell the truth."
"Can't you say something nice?"
"You are having a fever, don't tell me, you can dream..."
She threw a pillow on top of him, but he didn't lift his head. He reached out and grabbed the pillow and put it aside, grinned twice, put the ice pack that fell on the side back on her forehead, and continued typing.
In her imagination, a beautiful home is like this.
She was very relieved and fell asleep quickly.
It was already early morning when I woke up again, and the sky outside the window was dimly lit. She saw Xin Qi sleeping beside her, with a blanket on her body.
He was sound asleep, breathing evenly. Holding an ice pack in his hand, he took care of her for about one night.
She touched his hand and then touched his chest, feeling a steady heartbeat. He rolled over, his face just facing her, his forehead touching her cheek.
She kissed him lightly, and seeing no response, kissed him again.
This time it was longer. His lips were very soft, slightly dry, that healthy red. After she kissed her mouth, she went to kiss his face, kiss the tip of his nose... After walking for a while, she stepped back, only to find that his eyes were wide open, staring at him without blinking. Own.
Her face flushed red
"Turn your head away," he said sternly.
She thought he was going to get angry, so she turned her head quickly and buried half of her face in the pillow.
A hard thing was inserted into the ear, and then there was a "drip" sound.
"Thirty-seven degrees one." He looked at the ear thermometer and said lightly, "You have a fever."
After two weeks.
The Morning Star Stray Dog Rescue Base is located in a row of abandoned factories near the National Road in the western suburbs of Bincheng. It had just rained, and the ground was muddy and overgrown with grass. Xin Qi got out of the car and walked 500 meters to the office of the base.
The door was half open, and a woman wearing sunglasses and jeans was chatting in a low voice with two staff members in their thirties. Seeing him knocking on the door, she was stunned for a moment: "Xin Qi, President Xin, which gust of wind brought you here? already?"
"Good morning, ma'am."
This person is Cheng Qirang's wife Zheng Yiting, Xin Qi has met her a few times and is considered an acquaintance. The two shook hands, Zheng Yiting took off his sunglasses, looked at him, and asked, "How did you know I was here?"
"They said you set up a stray dog rescue center outside Xicheng. I'll come and take a look." He said with a smile, "By the way, I brought a truckload of dog food, and the driver will move in later."
"Thank you." Zheng Yiting smiled, "I'm going to the yard to have a look, together?"
"OK."
The two walked out the door, turned to the right, and faced a kennel room. There lived stray dogs of all sizes and breeds, all looking disheveled and scruffy. When he saw someone coming, he ran around, barked, and made a lot of noise.
"Have you ever raised a dog?" Zheng Yiting asked.
"There's a collie at home in New York, twelve years old, living with my parents."
"Twelve years old? That's the old grandpa."
"Yeah. It looks healthy now, and I eat well, but I'm slow and don't like to move around." After saying that, he took out his mobile phone and opened the photo album, and slid it to her one by one, "Well, this is it. , I love to eat wood chips, so I dare not take it to the park."
"It's great to grow old with the dog." Zheng Yiting sighed. She is very small, and she can see that she is very good at maintaining her round face. She wears a Hermès crocodile skin Kangkang bag on her body, and she looks calm and comfortable.
Sure enough, it was Zheng Lan's daughter. She had never seen any scenes since she was a child.
"I have an office in Guanchao, across from your building," she said. "Why are you here looking for me?"
"Of course I want to visit you at the tide watch, but in the current situation, I'm afraid I'm not welcome." Xin Qi said.
Zheng Yiting paused, looked at him coldly, and didn't answer. Turning around, she led him to a simple reception room with a table and four rattan chairs. She pointed to the chairs and said, "Please take a seat. You came to me, surely you didn't come to see these dogs?"
"I came to you because I think you are a caring person," Xin Qi smiled lightly, "I want to tell you that BBG's stake in Guanchao is mainly optimistic about the future of Guanchao. A good financial investment.”
"Financial investment?" She snorted, "Don't play this game with me, Mr. Xin. You are engaged in investment, and you are interested in our Guanchao AAA credit rating. If BBG can hold a controlling stake, you can use Guanchao's credit rating. Financing channels to finance your own investment projects and enjoy low interest rates, so you can greatly reduce your own financing costs. Don't tell me you haven't made this calculation."
After saying this, she raised her face slightly, her eyes swept to Xin Qi's face, and she settled down to observe his reaction. A staff member came in and poured them two cups of tea.
"You misunderstood. BBG's credit is also top-notch. We invest in Guanchao, not to take advantage of it or damage it, on the contrary, it is for the tide to develop in a better direction: with our participation, it can help the tide. Broaden the marketing system, improve the corporate culture, and formulate rules and regulations to prohibit the widespread sexual harassment and discrimination. Only in this way can we unite more groups, work together, and strive for the future of Guanchao. Why can't the stock price of Guanchao rise? Don't you think it has something to do with your husband's disgraceful behavior, ma'am?"
"Don't be so hype, this is just your PR strategy!" Zheng Yiting sneered, "Mr. Xin, I hope you will accept it as soon as you see it. You have already greatly angered my husband, and he vowed to destroy you completely. The purpose is to never rest.”
Her voice was low, but it had the air of bravado.
"I do not deny your contribution to Guanchao. He is indeed a good operator and a capable technical genius. But he is not a myth, and his decisions are not always right. At the level of managing a company, I'm no less than him. You know your husband well, but you probably don't know me. I've been studying the tide for a long time, and I'm fully prepared for this acquisition. Your husband won't take a break, and neither will I. Hugh," Xin Qi smiled lightly, "now I just want to ask you, Guanchao was founded by Ling Zun. He loved you so much during his lifetime that you have the largest personal share in Guanchao. You are willing to see Ling Zun's hard work. Turned into a piece of scorched earth?"
"Don't say it so grandly," Zheng Yiting said unmoved. "There are rumors that you did this just to breathe a sigh of relief for your woman."
"This is also one of my goals. I don't deny it." Xin Qi took a sip of tea, "Cheng Qirang bullying others, no good. Bullying my woman, even less so. Besides, he won't let your dog go... …”
Zheng Yiting didn't react for a while, thinking she heard it wrong: "What did you say?"
"Your dog was bitten to death by a black pit bull, right? Your husband was right next to him. He could have stopped him, but he didn't do anything. I think he must hate that dog very much? "
Zheng Yiting looked stunned, was silent for a long time, and murmured: "He said he was not there at the time. About Pluto's death, I didn't tell anyone these details. How do you know it was a pit bull, and it was Black?" Her voice trembled a little despite her efforts to control it.
"Because he threatened Min Hui, saying that if he was not obedient, he would end up with that dog."
She took a deep breath, her face gradually turned pale, and she did not speak for a long time.
"You're his wife, don't want to believe it, I can understand." He slowly handed her another cup of tea.
Zheng Yiting took a sip and continued to be silent.
Xin Qi didn't speak, leaned on the rattan chair and looked at her silently.
After a while, Zheng Yiting asked, "What's your current shareholding ratio?"
"Twenty-seven percent."
"..."
"On Guanchao's side, your major shareholders: Jingrui, Puhua, management, and corporate shares together hold 29.7% of the shares."
"If you want to hold a controlling stake, it's a lot worse."
"Not much, just 4% of yours."
"Guanchao was founded by my father, and I will not sell my shares."
"I can give you a good price."
"No way," she shook her head firmly, and after a while, said, "but I can cede the voting rights to you."
Xin Qi's eyes lit up: "What are the conditions?"
She was silent for a few seconds and said, "My dad has always wanted me to take over the management of Guanchao, so he specially sent me abroad to study management for a few years, but I am not interested in this business, it is unlikely that my dad will see me. When I inherited the family business, I left everything to Cheng Qirang, and asked me to marry him, because when it comes to business, my father only trusts his family."
Xin Qi listened silently and did not answer.
"Me too. Only if we are a family can I safely hand over the voting rights to you."
Her hint was obvious, Xin Qi immediately shook his head: "No."
Zheng Yiting raised her brows: "Why?"
"I won't marry you for four percent of the vote, even if it's just a formality."
"Why not?"
"Madam, if I can't be trusted, you can't tie me up with marriage."
She looked at him without saying a word for a long time. At the end, she said faintly, "I thought you would at least think about it."
"Don't think about it, Absolutelyno. (Absolutely not)" His tone was firm.
She smiled mysteriously: "What you just said was just a test."
He was slightly startled.
"Congratulations, you passed."
He looked at her and said calmly, "Then your real condition is—"
"You promise to let Cheng Qirang get out after you come to power."