Xiao Churan stayed locked in her office all day, neither eating nor drinking, sitting in her chair, replaying her memories with Ye Chen—from meeting, to marriage, to now.
She lost count of how many times she cried, her eyes red and swollen.
By evening, the company staff had left. Sun Mengmeng knocked on her office door and asked softly, “Director Xiao, aren’t you leaving?”
Xiao Churan replied, “I’ll head out soon. You go ahead. Are there any other colleagues left?”
Sun Mengmeng said, “No, just me.”
Xiao Churan breathed a sigh of relief, “Alright, you go first, Mengmeng. I’ll leave soon.”
“Okay, Director Xiao, I’ll head out then.”
Sun Mengmeng said goodbye and left. Xiao Churan waited another ten minutes, assuming everyone had gone, before dragging her exhausted body out of the office.
Looking at the spacious, tidy office area, she felt a deep reluctance.
Leaving Ye Chen and going into hiding meant temporarily vanishing from the world.
Her design company would have to shut down.
Many projects were unfinished. In the next month or so, she’d need to rush to make progress. While finishing everything was unlikely, she could at least complete some.
For projects she couldn’t finish, she’d arrange refunds and pay penalties before leaving.
Paying large penalties might wipe out the company’s recent profits, but to Xiao Churan, money no longer mattered.
She drove alone back to Tomson Yipin. Returning to this nearly 200-million-yuan mansion, her emotions were mixed.
In the courtyard was her father Xiao Changkun’s Rolls-Royce Cullinan, his usual ride.
She used to think the mansion and luxury cars came from Ye Chen’s feng shui earnings.
Now, looking again, she realised there were secrets she’d never known.
Sighing, she parked the car, opened the door like a lost soul, and entered the house.
Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan were sitting on the sofa. The TV was on, but neither was watching, instead engrossed in their phones, eagerly discussing the Maldives.
Seeing Xiao Churan return, Ma Lan said excitedly, “Churan, I saw that people love snorkelling in the Maldives. I’m planning to have your dad take me to buy snorkelling gear tomorrow. Want to come check it out?”
Xiao Churan shook her head, “You two go. I’m not interested in snorkelling. We’re only in the Maldives for a few days, and I want to rest and clear my mind.”
Ma Lan grinned, “You and my good son-in-law work so hard. A rare chance to relax in a beautiful tropical place—you should make the most of it. Your dad and I are different; we’ve got no real work to do, full of energy with nowhere to spend it. In the Maldives, I’m packing our schedule—besides snorkelling, I want to chase dolphins, try sea fishing. They say experienced captains can find Bryde’s whale pods, so we’ll check that out too!”
Xiao Churan nodded, not approaching them, and said listlessly, “Mum, Dad, you two keep planning. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll head upstairs to rest.”
Ma Lan didn’t think much of it, saying to Xiao Changkun with some regret, “The island we picked is the best in the Maldives, but the only downside is there’s no private plane this time…”
As Xiao Churan climbed the stairs, hearing her mother’s remark, she felt a sudden irritation.
Her mother was always like this—vain to an alarming degree and sometimes recklessly bold.
Ye Chen had a bank card with tens of billions, and Ma Lan dared to transfer the balance. Xiao Churan wanted to confront her and ask how she had the nerve.
Didn’t she ever consider how embarrassing this was for her daughter?
