Chapter 1346 - Weapon
Wang Ma was sweeping the front yard when Yang Chen arrived and she was surprised to see him, "Sir? You're home? Are you here alone?"
Wang Ma was getting old and despite having a daughter by her side, the house still felt empty without them.
Yang Chen only told her that he was here to pick up some items. Everything was fine and Lin Ruoxi was still in Beijing.
"Wang Ma, Minjuan must be staying with you these days." Yang Chen said nonchalantly.
Wang Ma didn't think much about it, "Yeah, thank goodness she's here or else I'd be bored since Guifang went back to her hometown."
"Qing'er didn't spend time with you?" Yang Chen smiled.
Wang Ma chided, "She's like a kid. She's still young so she likes to go out. Besides, Miss Cai Yan has been free ever since she quit her job, so she always brings Qing'er out to play. I can't stop her."
Yang Chen was glad to hear that. It'd be better for future harmony if they got closer.
Once they were done chatting, Yang Chen walked into the house and saw Minjuan in the kitchen. She was more fashionable compared to before, although her attire wasn't a branded one, at least she was paying more attention to her attire.
Seeing her wash vegetables with her content expression really made it hard for Yang Chen to imagine her as a scheming woman. If someone like her could be plotting against him, someone else could be doing the same without him knowing.
"Minjuan," Yang Chen called her.
Minjuan turned around from hearing her name and she was shocked to see Yang Chen, "Mister Yang? Why are you back so sudden? Ah, I just cleaned up after breakfast. Are you hungry? Would you like me to cook you a bowl of noodles?"
Yang Chen shook his head while smiling, "Follow me upstairs, I need to ask you something. You can continue with the vegetables later."
A look of confusion appeared on her face as she wiped her hands on her apron but she didn't ask any questions. Wang Ma was puzzled, not sure why Yang Chen would have questions for Minjuan.
Once they got to the second floor, Yang Chen motioned Minjuan to open the door to her room.
Minjuan was still puzzled but she followed his orders as he was her employer.
Yang Chen glanced around but he didn't notice anything special so he turned to face Minjuan, "Minjuan, did Lanlan's grandfather said anything else when he asked you to bring Lanlan to us?"
Minjuan was startled and her expression became stiff, "I...I don't understand what you mean by that."
Yang Chen's gaze turned cold, "Do you really not understand what I'm trying to say?"
Minjuan shook her head slowly, avoiding his gaze, "I don't..."
Yang Chen said nothing else and he chose to take out the beads that were given to Lanlan by Song Tianxing.
Minjuan froze at the sight of the beads, "Master's beads?! Mister Yang, where did you get them? Did you find Master?!"
"That's not the point," Yang Chen's voice was low from the anger he was feeling, "I'm more concerned about the letters and the token uncle entrusted to you. Where are they?"
Minjuan turned pale when she realised that Yang Chen knew about those things. With a trembling voice, she tried to explain herself, "Mister Yang, listen to me..."
"Where is it?!" Yang Chen raised his voice and glared at her.
Minjuan dropped to her knees and begged, "Mister Yang, listen to my explanation! I didn't mean to do it, I had my reasons!"
Whenever Yang Chen was reminded that she had kept Seventeen's remnants and Lanlan's identity from him, it made him feel like killing her so badly!
For ordinary couples, swearing their love for each other might be sweet nothings but for Yang Chen and Seventeen who had dealt with an agonising past, being together and having a child of their own was different. Their feelings for one another were etched deep in them and they would give up their lives to guard their relationship.
Yang Chen was furious because of this. If this happened a few years back when he was unrestrained, Minjuan would've been dead by now.
It took all of his self-control to stay sane. Yang Chen took the beads back and asked Minjuan, "Tell me your reasons."
Minjuan wiped her tears and kowtowed to him three times.
While choking with sobs, she said, "Mister Yang, I could feel that you're not an ordinary person now that I've spent a long time in this house. You're a god-like person, just like Master. I would never dare to cross you."
"Hmph," Yang Chen sneered, "You wouldn't dare? I would've still been kept in the dark if I hadn't met my uncle by chance!"
Minjuan shook her head vigorously, "No, Mister Yang, listen to me. I know I've made a mistake but I was doing it for this family, for you, Madam and Lanlan."
Yang Chen furrowed his brows, "Don't you try to trick me, do you think of me as a fool?"
"I would never dare to trick you!" Minjuan sobbed, "I was only in primary school, I wouldn't benefit from lying to you."
She was right, as it also puzzled him when he found out about this.
"Then why did you not tell me?" Yang Chen asked.
Minjuan tried her best to calm down, "I don't dare to hide anything from you anymore. Actually, I tore the envelope by mistake and I wanted to change the envelope just in case you'll suspect me of reading the content, but I...I couldn't resist it, so when I was changing the envelope, I peeked at the content..."
Minjuan noticed Yang Chen's cold expression and she quickly waved her hands, "Mister Yang, I was just worried about Master's whereabouts since he saved me! I was hoping to find some clues...but, it was all about Lanlan's background and some sentences which I couldn't understand."
"Where's the letter and dagger?" Yang Chen asked with an expressionless face.
It reminded Minjuan and she ran to the closet to rummage through her stuff. Finally, the letter and dagger were pulled out of a small plastic bag.
When Minjuan passed the items to Yang Chen with shaky hands, Yang Chen was overwhelmed with emotions as he stared at the dagger.
It was a small military dagger that was covered in blue cloth. The three blood grooves were stained scarlet from the lives it had taken.
Some parts of the dagger were chipped off from countless battles which cast a deadly glow to the dagger.
It wasn't an expensive dagger but seeing this dagger gave Yang Chen flashbacks of the woman who had left him. Her silhouette was always as lonely and plain as this dagger.
This used to be her weapon but it was left behind after her death.
Chapter 1347 - Physically and Mentally Exhausted
Yang Chen took a deep breath and held his tears in before opening the envelope. There was nothing on it which signified that Minjuan didn't dare to write anything on it to avoid arousing suspicion.
Yang Chen glanced through the content of the letter and realised that it was almost the same as what Song Tianxing had told him about Seventeen and Lanlan. He also added two sentences about the Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture to confirm his identity.
"You knew that I am Lanlan's biological father when you read the letter, so why didn't you tell me?" Yang Chen questioned her.
Minjuan smiled bitterly, "I couldn't tell you or pass the letter to you because I knew the truth!"
"Why?" Yang Chen furrowed his brows.
Minjuan sighed, "Mister Yang, I've been taking care of Lanlan for a year while serving Master before I met you guys. I treat Lanlan as my daughter but...she's been hoping to meet her parents. We travelled together, and even though Master cared for her a lot, Lanlan yearned for her parents every time she saw other children with their parents. It pained me to see her like this...
Lanlan was unsociable, she was much stronger than the other kids. She was too special. Kids who are as smart and strong as her are lonely. It would've been alright if she was in a normal family but she didn't even have her parents. She couldn't even experience parental love and she doesn't even know if her parents are still alive..."
"Mister Yang, do you remember the time when we first met? Lanlan was sneaking glances at Miss Lin while standing by the gate at the orphanage. Do you know how happy she was that night? She told me that she found her mom, but she's worried that her mom would leave her because she doesn't like her. She looked so pitiful and it pained me to see her like that.
Fortunately, Miss Lin likes Lanlan and she started to think of adopting Lanlan. Lanlan was so thrilled and it was my first time seeing her look so content... I know that Miss Lin may resemble Lanlan's biological mother, but as a woman I can feel that Miss Lin really cares for Lanlan, she truly loves her and nothing beats that...before Lanlan met Miss Lin, her sleep cycle was a mess. She didn't like to sleep, but ever since she met Miss Lin, she had been sleeping so well and I think that it's because she feels at ease to be by her mother's side."
Yang Chen's lips curled into a faint smile when he was reminded of Lanlan's sleeping face.
It warmed his heart.
Minjuan sniffed, "Mister Yang, I have not been in this family for a long time but I'm truly thankful that you, Miss Lin, Madam Guo, Wang Ma and the other ladies for being nice to me. You guys didn't look down on me or mistreat me. You guys built my self-esteem and made me feel like I'm part of the family...
I can't stress my gratitude for you guys...but because of this, I really want the best for you guys. If a huge conflict happened because of some things, it might shatter this family and that'll be devastating for Lanlan. I know Miss Lin isn't willing to accept the other ladies, but their feelings for you are genuine so they wouldn't be able to cut ties with you. You've been coaxing Miss Lin and I think that you're trying to stabilize this family and have Miss Lin accept them. I know it's hard for women to not be attracted to you. Pretty women don't like weaklings, however modern men who are rich and powerful, they all have lovers..."
Yang Chen almost blushed with shame, she was really direct. Even though she was right, saying it right in his face kind of made him feel embarrassed.
"I'm a nobody and I'm uneducated but all I care about is Lanlan's wellbeing. I wish for her to grow up well in a happy family. I have selfish thoughts too, I don't want to go back to the country. My in-laws were a nightmare. I want to stay in this house and be a loyal maid just like Wang Ma...besides, you're Lanlan's biological father and this makes you her relative by blood, but what if Lin Ruoxi finds out about this? What if she harbors any ill feelings? Wouldn't that burden the family?" Minjuan wiped her tears.
Yang Chen roughly understood her underlying meaning. It did make sense now.
The situation wouldn't be so grave if Lanlan was birthed by another woman but Lanlan was Seventeen child.
Lin Ruoxi was aware that Seventeen was her only true rival. This woman affected Yang Chen's life the most!
Seventeen had left him forever but with Lanlan's appearance, it would constantly remind them about Seventeen!
Lin Ruoxi was an emotional person in a relationship. She could never ignore it. She might be able to tolerate him for having many lovers but she would never accept that Yang Chen viewed another woman as his true love!
Yang Chen himself couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be reminded of Seventeen every time he sees Lanlan. This would be a slap to Lin Ruoxi's face.
If he had never gotten this letter, he would've raised Lanlan as his daughter unaffected.
But now that he knew about Lanlan's true identity, how could he disappoint Seventeen? How could he not let her daughter know that he was her biological father?!
Even if he couldn't tell Lin Ruoxi now, it would be worse if she found out about this later and realised that he had kept it hidden from her...
"At that time when you came back from Australia, a month after Master left, I almost told you about this...you even asked me if I had something to say to you, I held it in because I couldn't bring myself to say it..." Minjuan bewailed.
Yang Chen stood still, remembering that time. He didn't think much about it then, but now, it felt like a slap to his face.
After some time, Yang Chen motioned Minjuan to get up and he put the items into his space ring.
"Don't tell anyone about this without my permission." Yang Chen told her.
Minjuan nodded vigorously, she would never dare to tell anyone.
Yang Chen's mind was jumbled. He couldn't think of anything as too many things were at stake. Family, love and conscience were all barriers to this matter.
As he got downstairs, Wang Ma noticed he seemed down and so she came to check on him.
Yang Chen answered her half-heartedly and told her that he would be back after Chinese New Year and that she could contact him if something came up.
Yang Chen's flight back to Beijing was at night. After some hesitation, Yang Chen decided to not find his other lovers as he didn't want to vent his emotions on them.
He drove the BMW X6 out of the garage and headed towards Old Li's place.
On his way there, he made a phone call and Old Li answered it. Old Li chided when he heard Yang Chen's voice, "Yang Chen, have you forgotten about your father-in-law? It's already Chinese New Year and you didn't get us any goods. Do you still want my daughter to be with you?"
Old Li's life was much better now compared to before, and with Li Jingjing by his side, his discontent towards Yang Chen had lessened.
Yang Chen smiled miserably, "I'm going over to have some drinks with you. Prepare some food, I can buy some if there's not enough food."
Old Li didn't think much about it and he asked his wife to cook some more dishes before ushering Yang Chen to drive faster.
Once Yang Chen arrived at Old Li's condominium, he was about to get out of the car when he saw something that made him pause in his tracks.
Chapter 1348 - Vice Minister
A grey Ferrari 485 appeared around the corner and stopped in front of the condominium.
The car door opened and Li Jingjing walked out of the passenger seat gracefully. She was wearing a checkered shirt beneath a teal striped sweater, matching it with a light skinny jean.
The sweet and delicate smile on her face mesmerised Yang Chen, especially when he hadn't seen Li Jingjing in a while.
Ever since they got together, she had transformed from a lady to a mature woman, transforming from a fresh and innocent lady into a confident city woman.
Li Jingjing waved at the person in the driver's seat and was about to close the door to get home when she was stopped by the man who wasn't inclined to leave just yet.
He got out of the car to talk to her and it seemed like he was asking her something.
By this time, Yang Chen could already read the situation. He was probably courting Li Jingjing.
Although Yang Chen didn't think of Li Jingjing as a disloyal person, it was still uncomfortable to witness this.
Yang Chen had never thought of himself as a generous man, especially when it came to his lovers, so he got out of the car and locked the doors before striding towards them.
As he got closer to them, Yang Chen finally had a full view of the man. He was a decent looking man in his 20s, slightly taller than Yang Chen, probably around 6 feet. Looking at his fit physique, he didn't seem like an ordinary spoiled rich kid. With him in a black Versace suit and shiny dress shoes, Yang Chen seemed especially underdressed in his casual outfit and sneakers.
"Minister Meng, it's not a good timing today. How about I buy you a meal some other day? I'm really sorry..." It seemed like Li Jingjing was rejecting him.
The young man still had a warm smile on his face, "Why isn't it good timing? Jingjing, it's not my first time meeting your parents. I'm just curious about the person you're rushing to meet. You've never been like these during overtime."
"I..."
Li Jingjing was about to explain but her sentence was cut short when she saw Yang Chen. Her eyes lit up and she called out to him cheerfully, "Yang Chen!"
Yang Chen walked towards them silently and completely ignored Meng Zhexin.
Once he was in front of them, he wrapped his arms around Li Jingjing and pressed his lips against hers!
Li Jingjing almost dropped her purse on the ground from the surprise kiss. She was shy yet overjoyed to know that Yang Chen was jealous. It was hard for her to suppress her delight from his bold way of expressing dominance.
Yang Chen shared a passionate kiss with her as Meng Zhexin watched from the side with a dark expression.
This man utterly ignored him and based on Li Jingjing's change of expression, she was obviously deeply in love with her.
He finally understood why he had failed to win her heart after courting her for so long, but it was infuriating to know that he had lost to a man like this!
Fortunately, Meng Zhexin had become better at self-control from working at the ministry for two years.
Yang Chen finally let go of Li Jingjing after five minutes of kissing. He pecked her forehead and smirked before pretending that he only remembered about Meng Zhexin now, "Babe, who is this man?"
Li Jingjing panted and gave a side-eye to Yang Chen before replying to him, "This is the Vice Minister of Education, Mister Meng Zhexin. I just got a call from dad that you're coming so I left in a hurry. I couldn't hail a taxi at this time of the year so he sent me home."
Vice Minister? The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education was equivalent to the Deputy-Bureau-Director level, how did this young man accomplish that?
Yang Chen would never have believed that an official like him could drive a Ferrari 458 around without any solid background.
Well, at the same time, Yang Chen wasn't really concerned about his background as long as he stayed away from his woman.
"Mister Yang Chen? Are you Jingjing's boyfriend?" Meng Zhexin asked.
"No," Yang Chen corrected him, "I'm her man."
"Oh? You two are married?" Meng Zhexin asked but he had already investigated Li Jingjing's family history. She was such a dignified woman, it was surprising to know that a beautiful woman like her has never dated anyone in university.
Meng Zhexin touched a sore spot with that question. Yang Chen looked at Li Jingjing who was in his arms and replied with a stern expression, "We're not married but I'll love her till she stops loving me."
Li Jingjing looked up at Yang Chen. She was humoured yet touched by his reply and she thought to herself, Why would I give up on my love life when I've fought so long to get him?
"Haha, you're an interesting man. Everyone deserves the right to court a beautiful woman and since you're not married, I sure hope that you won't interfere with us aggressively. I don't want to make things hard for us since we met by chance. I need to take care of some matters so I'll be taking my leave. Hope to see you again." Meng Zhexin smirked at Yang Chen.
"Jingjing, send my regards to uncle and aunty. I'll be visiting you soon, please don't reject me again. It hurts my pride."
Having said so, Meng Zhexin got back into his car and left immediately.
Yang Chen was already feeling down and being taunted by Meng Zhexin almost made him want to smash that Ferrari, but he decided not to stir up more trouble.
Instead, out of annoyance, he turned to ask Li Jingjing, "Jingjing, how long has he been courting you?"
Li Jingjing stuck out her tongue cutely, "I can't do anything about it, he's the leader. I can't reject him aggressively or it'll ruin our work environment. Mom was the one who helped me get this job, I can't be reckless."
"That's not a problem, I can transfer you into another department if he's annoying you." Yang Chen was straightforward.
Li Jingjing shook her head, "No, I like my current job, it matches my major and interest. Plus, I might have more suitors in another place. It's better here since Minister Meng's the only suitor. No one else dared to bother me."
Yang Chen sighed internally, Li Jingjing would never stop having suitors as long as she's not married. It was unavoidable unless she stopped working.
Yang Chen couldn't kill all the men in the world, it was too irrational, so he had no choice but to hold back.
As if to cheer him up, Li Jingjing tiptoed and rubbed her cheek against his chin, "Come on, my dear. You know nothing will ever happen between us. I'm just going with the flow. A man like him isn't patient, he'll lose interest in me over time. There are plenty of fishes out in the sea, maybe he just finds me interesting. Besides, he may be promoted soon, so he might get transferred somewhere else."
"What's his background? He's in the Deputy-Bureau-Director level at such a young age? Even the Deputy-Division-Head level is a bit too much for his age!" Yang Chen furrowed his brows at the thought of this.
Li Jingjing was clueless, "I don't know, but people in the ministry said that his father is a high ranking officer, their family has a profound status and even the Minister of Education is respectful towards him."
It was the same as what Yang Chen expected, but it seemed like nothing bad would happen so he urged Li Jingjing to notify him if anything came up.
Li Jingjing saluted, delighted to see him being jealous.
Only then they make their way upstairs where Old Li already had the door opened for them.
Chapter 1349 - Chairman
The moment they walked through the door, Yang Chen and Li Jingjing were greeted by the delicious smell of food, but it was much healthier than the food they used to sell in the road stall and this was all thanks to Yang Chen's lower-tier medicinal pills
As soon as Old Li saw Yang Chen, he ushered him to sit down. After patting his shoulder, Old Li whispered to him, "I saw it just now, Yang Chen, you have to act quickly. My daughter's very popular."
He was talking about Meng Zhexin who drove Li Jingjing home.
Li Jingjing's ears were sharp and she chided at her father, "Dad, why are you talking about this? Nothing is going on between Minister Meng and me."
Yang Chen was mindful of it, "Does he always send Jingjing home?"
"He does way more than that, he even came upstairs to talk to us and gave us cordyceps and Maotai. They look really pricey. We're used to living a frugal life so we didn't dare to accept those gifts!" Old Li waved his hands frantically.
Yang Chen almost blushed since he had never given them these things. He patted his chest and asserted, "Those things are useless, the medicinal pills that I gave you guys are true supplements. His things are nothing compared to mine."
Old Li chuckled, "Yang Chen, people our age can't use those things for a long time. As for Jingjing, now that she's with you now, you can't possibly let someone else send her home all the time."
Yang Chen understood his underlying meaning. As expected of his father-in-law, Old Li was hinting at him to buy Li Jingjing a car so that she wouldn't need someone else to send her home.
Yang Chen slapped his forehead in realisation, why hadn't he thought of this before? All the problems would've been solved easily.
Although Li Jingjing had found herself a decent job, she couldn't afford a car just yet as maintaining a car would cost her quite a lot. Thus, her only choice would be to hail a taxi to get to work and this gave Meng Zhexin a chance to step in.
At the thought of this, Yang Chen immediately took out his phone to order an SLK350 from a Mercedes Benz dealer and including all the service fees, the car only cost him one million.
Yang Chen earned millions from selling the medicinal pills to Park Cheon and it would take a while for Yang Chen to spend all the money. He didn't even need to withdraw it from the overseas bank account.
Old Li was delighted to see Yang Chen buying a car for his daughter willingly. No one could blame him for being materialistic, since his daughter was now Yang Chen's lover. It would be a loss if she couldn't live a better life and all parents would want their children to live a better life.
Li Jingjing didn't really have such needs but she was more than happy to accept anything that came from Yang Chen.
Once the dishes were ready, the whole family sat down by the dining table for lunch.
Li Jingjing served them alcohol and Old Li was already tipsy after a few drinks.
"Yang Chen, didn't you say that you're spending Chinese New Year in Beijing? Why are you suddenly back here?"
Yang Chen was holding onto a spring roll in one hand with a bowl in the other hand, "I came back to deal with some matters, but I've already taken care of it. I'm feeling frustrated so I wanted to have a drink, and It definitely feels better to drink with an old friend."
"Hehe...I'm your father-in-law now, I would lose my seniority as your friend." Old Li waved.
"Come on, stop acting. You're lucky that your daughter is dating me. Only a son-in-law like me can vitalise you. What if I get some more medicinal pills to let you have a second child?"
"Second child? Do you think we're animals?" Old Li chided.
Li Jingjing and her mother blushed at his words. Seriously, men became so unrestrained under the alcoholic influence.
Yang Chen chuckled, "Why aren't you asking me about my frustrations?"
Old Li shook his head, "I could guess it even if you didn't tell me, it must be family matters or else you wouldn't be this frustrated. Only you can deal with it. We're outsiders. There's nothing moreI can do other than drink with you, but I can't drink much, I need my afternoon nap."
Yang Chen clicked his tongue, speechless at his indifference. But then again, he wasn't expecting Old Li to help with anything. He was just here to drink and take a breather.
Li Jingjing was concerned, "Yang Chen, is there anything that I can help you with?"
Yang Chen smiled and shook his head, "Jingjing, don't think much about it. No one can help me with this. I'll be taking a flight back to Beijing tonight and I'll come up with a solution eventually."
Li Jingjing didn't probe further when she heard this and she continued to fill their bowls.
After lunch, Old Li fell asleep just as he said but his wife was unaffected. She just pulled him to the couch, put a blanket over him and just left him there.
Yang Chen's face was flushed from drinking several bowls of Gaoliang and he lied on the couch to watch television. From the corner of his eye, he checked out Li Jingjing's back view and the sight of her pouring him tea aroused him.
Yang Chen snuck close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. With a breath filled with alcohol, he rubbed his face against her nape and spoke, "Babe, how's your cultivation going?"
Li Jingjing blushed and she snuck glances at her mother who was washing the dishes, "It's going well, I feel better than before. I don't know my current level but my True Qi feels denser than before."
"Uh...let me check it for you. Come, let's go into your room..."
Li Jingjing would never believe his words but she couldn't resist his hot breath on her neck which made her body go limp.
Yang Chen pushed her into her room easily and locked the door before pressing her on the bed.
Beneath the bright afternoon sun, Li Jingjing's room seemed especially warm when it was still winter. It felt as if spring came a little sooner than expected.
On the other hand, Meng Zhexin was back in his office at the Ministry of Education. He wasn't supposed to be working today but Chinese New Year was starting tomorrow and as the new leader, Meng Zhexin still came to work to set a good example to his subordinates.
It was worthwhile for a newcomer like him to work overtime as he could gain public praises. This would be beneficial for someone like him who rose up the political ladder quickly.
However, Meng Zhexin couldn't focus on work as he was constantly reminded of the time when Yang Chen kissed Li Jingjing passionately which made him scowl.
He initially thought Li Jingjing was lying about having a boyfriend. He thought she was shy but he was taking his time because he knew that a woman who was able to resist was more worthy for his efforts.
He never expected it to be true and that guy even ignored him and French kissed her.
Even so, Meng Zhexin wasn't an irrational person. He shouldn't judge a man by his appearance and through that short meeting, Meng Zhexin learned his name and even memorised his licence plate to dig up more information about him.
A phone call came which plastered a smile on his face when he knew that the information he wanted was here.
Meng Zhexin picked up the phone and asked, "Director Wang, any news?"
Because the car plate was from Jiangsu instead of Zhonghai, Meng Zhexin contacted Director Wang from the Public Security Bureau of Jiangsu directly.
Director Wang smiled, "Yes, Minister Meng. That license plate is registered in Jiangsu and it once belonged to the Gao clan of the Giant Whale Society but before the society was taken down, the car was given to a man called Yang Chen, the one you mentioned. He's the husband of the chairman of Yu Lei International, Lin Ruoxi. There's nothing special about his background. He returned from overseas and his curriculum vitae is quite empty, but he used to be the director of the Yu Lei International Entertainment company."
"What about his family background?"
"I can't find anything about this, I think he's an orphan. He got separated from his parents when he was five and he was sold overseas through human trafficking...he was then adopted by a couple...at 23 years old he graduated from Harvard with a Masters in Marketing Management and he returned to China in the same year...that's it. I couldn't find anything else special."
For Director Wang's level, he didn't have the power to get Yang Chen's file from the system so this fake information was the same as the ones obtained by Cai Yan.
Especially for someone with a special identity like Yang Chen, his file couldn't be easily obtained, as it would expose his information.
Meng Zhexin thanked him and hung up the phone.
He hadn't been in Zhonghai for a long time but he knew that Yu Lei International was the top company in the corporate world, also one of the fashion companies that could open various branches in different states. Their influence couldn't be taken lightly.
However, it was nothing to Meng Zhexin. He was unfazed by these major companies as they were heavily dependent on the supply chain. Intervention from a policy would cause the companies to go bankrupt.
And yet Meng Zhexin was capable of stirring up trouble for Yu Lei!
He was more intrigued by the fact that Yang Chen was the chairman's husband.
Although he didn't understand why Lin Ruoxi would marry a man like him, it'd be interesting if he was exposed to have a lover.
The thought of this brought joy to Meng Zhexin and he picked up the phone to make a call to Yu Lei International.
"Hello, this is the headquarters for Yu Lei International, is there anything I can help you with?" The sweet sound of the receptionist was heard.
"I'm Meng Zhexin, the Vice Minister of Education. I would like to speak to one of the chairmen, Lin Ruoxi. This is an urgent matter, please contact her on my behalf."
Chapter 1350 - Could Not Look Clearly
The receptionist wasn't silly, plenty of people wished to speak to Chairman Lin for various reasons. Some claimed that they were selling a genius invention, some claimed to be from a major financial group asking for a collaboration, some said that they were the relative of a political leader and some even pretended to be the president of a small country!
It didn't make sense for a Vice Minister of Education to call them, so the receptionist was more careful at answering his call, "Minister Meng, may I have a more detailed profile to confirm your identity?"
"It's about her husband, Yang Chen. The licence plate of her husband's BMW is Jiangsu Yang ChenNB. You can confirm it but I'll only give you one minute. You'll be held accountable if something bad happens because you refused to transfer my call." Meng Zhexin said coldly.
It was her first time to hear someone talk about Chairman Lin's husband. Yang Chen was pretty famous in the company for holding an outdoor concert at the square. He won the hearts of many ladies at that time.
The information on Yang Chen's licence plate was verified and the receptionist dared not to drag on, transferring the call to Zhao Hongyan immediately.
Although Zhao Hongyan was no longer Lin Ruoxi's assistant, she was still managing her phone calls.
Hearing Meng Zhexin talk about Yang Chen made her curious but she chose to hold it in to avoid arousing suspicion. All she did was confirm Meng Zhexin's identity before informing him of Lin Ruoxi's mobile phone number.
Lin Ruoxi was talking to the director of a broadcaster about Hui Lin's comeback when a call from an unknown number came through.
She ignored the call and continued the conversation with the director but the caller was persistent even after she was done with the earlier call.
Lin Ruoxi saw that the phone number was from Zhonghai and she hesitated for a second before answering the call.
"Is this Chairman Lin from Yu Lei International?"
A man's voice was heard.
Lin Ruoxi made a sound in response.
"I'm Meng Zhexin, the Vice Minister of Education in Zhonghai. I've something to tell you about your husband and I think you should know about this."
Lin Ruoxi was startled. She never expected someone to talk to her about Yang Chen.
How did Yang Chen get involved with the Vice Minister of Education?
"Go ahead." Lin Ruoxi said flatly.
Meng Zhexin smiled, "We have a civil servant called Li Jingjing and she's in a relationship with Mister Yang Chen which has greatly affected our reputation. I think if words got out...it'll bring shame to you and your company..."
Lin Ruoxi's heart wrenched and she felt chilled to the bones from feeling threatened, humiliated and oppressed. But at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to refute his claims that it almost made her sit on the floor.
After taking a deep breath, Lin Ruoxi tried her best to calm down but something caught up in her throat and her eyes were burning from the tears that were close to falling.
"Chairman Lin? Are you listening to me?" Meng Zhexin asked.
With trembling hands, Lin Ruoxi covered her chest and replied, "I've heard you..."
With that, Lin Ruoxi hung up the phone. She didn't know what else to say or what kind of sounds she would make if the conversation went on.
She knew about her husband's lovers but she still had to hear it from someone else.
Mockingly enough, everything felt so natural to her especially since she had spent some time with them.
Lin Ruoxi couldn't understand herself any longer. When did she become so disoriented? When did she begin to lose her true self?
Lin Ruoxi ran back into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Paying no attention to the dripping water, Lin Ruoxi looked up and stared at herself in the mirror.
A pair of beautiful eyes stared right back at her but she couldn't seem to look at her face clearly.
Somehow, the nightmare which she had been dreaming of repeatedly started surfacing in her mind again...
The nightmare which constantly woke her up in the middle of the night seemed to be hinting at her...
At this moment, someone pushed open the door and Lanlan came running cheerfully with two sticks of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in her hands.
She called Lin Ruoxi sweetly and gave one of the sticks to her, "Granny bought this for Lanlan, here's one for mommy!"
Her gaze was reluctant but she still insisted on giving it to Lin Ruoxi.
Lin Ruoxi's eyes warmed at the sight of her daughter and she squatted down to caress her hair. With a smile, she shook her head and told Lanlan to eat it herself.
"It's tasty," Lanlan said earnestly and looked at her with an expectant gaze.
Lin Ruoxi smiled and bit one of the Hawthorns, "I'll eat one, you can have the rest. Mommy's teeth will hurt, it's too sour."
Lanlan accepted her explanation and ran off to find someone else to play with. She had already viewed the Yang clan as her home where everyone was happy to have her around.
Lin Ruoxi closed her eyes and a few drops of tears dripped down her cheeks but no one knew if she was crying from the Hawthorn's sourness or the sore feeling in her heart.
However, Lin Ruoxi didn't have time to think about it any longer when a call came in. It was Zhuang Feng, the director of Beijing Yu Lei Entertainment.
"Chairman, we're fully prepared with the premier event and we're waiting for Yu Min to pick up Miss Lin Hui from the airport tonight and then we can discuss the schedule."
Lin Ruoxi recollected herself and asked with a calm voice, "What time will Lin Hui arrive at the airport?"
"8 o'clock, we've already sent someone..."
"No need," Lin Ruoxi cut him off, "I'll pick my sister up. I've not seen her for a long time, so send your people off to some other place."
Zhuang Feng didn't dare to stop her, so he said yes and hung up the phone immediately.
Lin Ruoxi didn't know that Yang Chen would be flying back to Beijing tonight since he didn't tell anyone that he flew to Zhonghai in the morning or else she wouldn't have chosen to pick up Hui Lin.
Lin Ruoxi didn't want him to misunderstand that she was there to pick him up because she was infuriated by him.
She wasn't planning on telling him about the things Meng Zhexin had told her because he might seek revenge and kill him.
To Lin Ruoxi, she didn't think that there was anything wrong with Meng Zhexin's statement. Her husband did have an illegitimate relationship with Li Jingjing so how could she hold any grudge against him?
He was just informing her. In a mean way, he was threatening her but in a good way, he could just be warning her that her husband might be fooling her.
Lin Ruoxi tried to calm herself down and thought that she should talk to Yang Chen once he was back in Beijing. She shouldn't let Guo Xuehua and the other elderlies know about this or else they would think that she was using an outsider to pressure Yang Chen.
Lin Ruoxi was on edge, family matters were much more challenging than business. It was driving her crazy!
At the same time, her resentment, anger and annoyance towards Yang Chen put a strain on her heart.
Lin Ruoxi clenched her jaw and got rid of the frustrating thoughts before picking up her phone to deal with her other tasks.