“That’s the rough situation. If you want more details, you can look at the materials I brought.”
As he spoke, He Zhen pushed the document wallet across the table towards Wen Ying.
If Wen Ying preferred not to look at paper copies, He Zhen had thoughtfully prepared a USB drive as well, so she could view the electronic version.
Wen Ying picked up the documents and flipped through them, clicking her tongue in admiration. “At the time, I already thought your startup sounded interesting. It just so happened that I had some money on hand. I never expected…”
“That we would actually get the company off the ground?”
He Zhen joked.
Wen Ying shook her head. “No, I always believed you would succeed. I just did not expect it to happen so quickly.”
He Zhen was, of course, capable. Without ability, there would have been no “Young Mr He” in her previous life.
Wen Ying had simply been unsure how long it would take for He Zhen to become that “Young Mr He”. The current He Zhen was still very young.
Unexpectedly, in just a few months, He Zhen had not only registered the company in China but had successfully launched and sold the products. Thinking that He Zhen’s current competitor was Silan filled Wen Ying with complicated emotions.
In her previous life, He Zhen had built Silan. In this life, He Zhen might very well bring Silan down.
He Zhen smiled. “I did not expect it to happen so fast either. Fortunately, Jinglong has been helping me. These past few months we have been running around constantly. Every day has been exhausting, yet every day has also been fulfilling.”
He Zhen was fine. After being financially cut off by his family, he had already lived through a period of “fulfilling days” and had prior experience at Silan. He adapted very well to the startup pace.
Pang Jinglong, on the other hand, had previously been ignored by his scumbag father and had never had any real training. These months had truly worn him down to the bone.
The startup process grinds people down, with external pressures and internal ones. Pang Jinglong’s personality was originally quite impulsive, and he had suffered greatly through it all.
Fortunately, Pang Jinglong had endured.
When the company’s products successfully launched and sales gradually picked up, Pang Jinglong softened as a person.
The fulfilling days left him no time to dwell on those distressing family disputes. Now he was focused entirely on growing the company and had even less interest in dealing with his scumbag father.
Pang Zhigang had been scheming to remarry his ex-wife Zhang Liqun. Zhang Liqun was busy with her own small business and had no time for him, so Pang Zhigang turned his attention to his son Pang Jinglong.
Previously, he had boasted about his illegitimate child at every dinner. Now wherever he went, he bragged about Pang Jinglong.
Pang Zhigang’s friends, seeing that Pang Jinglong and He Zhen’s startup was making waves, naturally went along and praised Pang Jinglong for his promise.
“A few days ago, Uncle Pang came looking for Jinglong, saying he had bought a new flat for him. Jinglong did not even want it.”
He Zhen’s smile held a touch of chill. “I advised Jinglong to accept the flat. After all, a husband and wife can end their relationship through divorce, but father and son cannot. In the future, if Uncle Pang squanders all his own property, he will come to Jinglong for support in old age. So accepting one flat from him is no big deal.”
“Support in old age comes in different forms. Good food, good housing, and good companionship is one kind. A few hundred yuan a month for basic living expenses is another. Those matters are still far off.”
Wen Ying agreed that Pang Jinglong should accept the flat.
It was only natural for a father to buy a flat for his son. If Pang Jinglong refused, he would simply be letting someone else benefit.
“You agree, do you not, Pang Jinglong?”
“Ah?!”
Pang Jinglong, lost in thought, jolted back to awareness and nodded randomly. “Yes… wait, what were you saying?”
Wen Ying and He Zhen had spoken so much, yet Pang Jinglong had not heard a word.
He Zhen laughed. “We were talking about your dad wanting to buy you a flat. It seems these past few months have truly worn you out. How about I give you a few days off?”
He Zhen suggested half-jokingly, half-seriously.
Pang Jinglong declined the kind offer. “…I do not need time off.”
Pang Jinglong had zoned out not because the startup was too exhausting, but because Xie Qian was sitting right across from him.
Over these months of building the company, Pang Jinglong had accumulated a bellyful of stories he wanted to share with Wen Ying.
In this, Pang Jinglong and Mu Fan truly shared the same fate.
Mu Fan was busy with his new book.
Pang Jinglong had thrown himself entirely into the newly founded company.
By the time Pang Jinglong came to his senses, Wen Ying already had a boyfriend.
Pang Jinglong felt utterly devastated.
When had Wen Ying started dating someone?
“They have been together for a while. The two of them were high school classmates with a deep emotional foundation.”
To help Pang Jinglong face reality, He Zhen had deliberately mentioned when arranging the dinner with Wen Ying that she could bring her “family member”. Sure enough, Wen Ying had brought Xie Qian.
That evening, Xie Qian spoke little. He did not dominate the conversation, merely greeting He Zhen and Pang Jinglong politely before sitting quietly beside Wen Ying.
Even so, Pang Jinglong felt deeply struck.
Xie Qian’s personal presence and aura were impossible for anyone to ignore. Pang Jinglong could not help feeling somewhat inadequate.
Only someone like this deserved Wen Ying, did he not?
The disappointment was profound, of course.
Fortunately, Pang Jinglong’s feelings for Wen Ying had only just begun before He Zhen dragged him into work. There had not been enough time for them to deepen and ferment. Seeing Wen Ying’s boyfriend in person, Pang Jinglong felt only disappointment, not jealousy or hatred.
Wen Ying shone like a beam of light.
One beam of light could only intersect with another.
Xie Qian was that other beam.
Pang Jinglong suppressed the bitterness in his heart and cooperated with He Zhen to change the subject. “I really do not want the flat from that man. Just seeing his scheming face makes me sick.”
Pang Zhigang’s pestering annoyed Pang Jinglong endlessly.
Several times Pang Jinglong had wanted to block the scumbag, but he feared the man would shift his target to harassing Zhang Liqun.
These past few months, Zhang Liqun had not only kept in touch with Zhu Xu and Dong Runfang, but Zhu Xu had also introduced her to several new local friends in Shanghai.
Those new friends were not big shots, yet they could always offer Zhang Liqun small help at key moments.
Zhang Liqun’s housekeeping company was tiny. At first she signed only a dozen or so domestic workers, each one personally vetted by Zhang Liqun herself.
Those whose cooking was substandard were sent to culinary classes for two months before starting work.
Those not meticulous enough in cleaning practised daily.
Anyone prone to cutting corners was absolutely not signed. Even if a bit slow-handed, as long as they were honest and hardworking, Zhang Liqun was willing to take them.
Thus, after carefully selecting a dozen or so workers, the company remained small, but after placing them in clients’ homes for a while, the reputation grew very positive.
Ordinary domestic help was one need, confinement nannies another. Zhang Liqun brimmed with energy, pondering daily how to build her business.
How could Pang Jinglong allow his scumbag father to disturb his mother Zhang Liqun? When the scumbag called, Pang Jinglong would answer every two or three times. For meetings he would claim to be busy. When he truly could not avoid it, he would meet briefly.
Pang Jinglong was simply dangling a bone to keep the scumbag hooked, making him think there was still hope of winning back his son.
Deep in his heart, Pang Jinglong wished he would receive news tomorrow that the scumbag had breathed his last. He really would immediately host a grand banquet and invite everyone he knew to come eat for free.
