What Matters Most Is
Chapter 3/9
In an office, sat Ning Guangyao whose call was just abruptly ended. He wasn’t aware that Lin Ruoxi had fainted as a result of an overload of stimuli.
Ning Guangyao just thought Lin Ruoxi was still mad about Ning Guodong, and him being the father of said rogue, wasn’t welcomed. Thus, all he did was shake his head with a bitter smile.
He seemed to have thought of something. Ning Guangyao took out his wallet. This wallet was a little different than most. It wasn’t used to contain banknotes, coins or credit cards. It was used to store various commemorative things like pictures, and name cards.
Ning Guangyao took out a laminated picture from the innermost part of the wallet. Over time, the picture had aged and yellowed as a result, but it didn’t affect the clarity of the image.
In the picture, a lady, dressed in an old-fashioned skirt, was seated on a stone bench, peacefully reading her book, seeming as though she didn’t have a care in the world…
Ning Guangyao stared at the lady for a long time as he got carried away by the memories of the past. Knock! Knock! His door was knocked upon.
Ning Guangyao regained awareness and sneaked the picture back into his wallet before standing up. Smiling, he said, “Cuishan, why have you come to Zhonghai?”
The middle-aged lady with short hair who walked in from the door was dressed in a white, formal western suit and a pair of black high heels. It was obvious the lady took great care in maintaining her outward appearance. Her age couldn’t be determined just by the look on her face. She had bright and fair skin and a mature and elegant figure.
She was Ning Guangyao’s wife and Ning Guodong’s mother—Luo Cuishan.
“Since you and Guodong didn’t return to Beijing, all I could do was come over to see what had happened,” Luo Cuishan complained as she stared at her husband, but the smile she held was still really warm.
Ning Guangyao behaved much more gentle in front of his wife. His eyes shone with genuine love. “Nothing much happened, don’t worry too much. Guodong did something wrong, and I’m here to correct his mistakes. I was planning to fly back to Beijing tonight. I can’t afford to be late for the election.”
“Yeah, no one ever needs to worry about your work. But please, enlighten me on why you have scolded our son in the way you have” Luo Cuishan said as she felt a heartache. “I went to Guodong’s place just now. He looked so dull and soulless. He hadn’t appeared this way before in the past.”
Anger filled Ning Guangyao’s eyes. “Don’t mind him. He’ll be fine after a while. We made the mistake of spoiling him in the past. He had grown a nasty temper as a result. Go back to Beijing with me in the afternoon. We’ll speak of this at a later time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Guangyao walked out of the office. Evidently, he was still irritated for the matter involving Ning Guodong.
Luo Cuishan turned around to gaze upon his husband’s back view while he walked outside, while an incomprehensible light filled her eyes.
… …
Inside Lin Ruoxi’s room, the curtains had been pulled open by Yang Chen, allowing the warm afternoon sunlight to enter the room, shining a dim golden light within.
Lin Ruoxi had already woken up from her slumber, but she didn’t get out of bed. She silently sat on the bed. Without making any noise, she had her gaze fixed on the group photo on the bedside table.
It had been half an hour, but Lin Ruoxi didn’t look like she was planning to talk, as if she had fallen into realm created by her imagination beyond that of the human one.
Yang Chen walked toward Lin Ruoxi and covered the photo, blocking her from staring at it.
“There’s no need to stare any longer. You still have a lot of things to do. Don’t think about things or people that you don’t need to prioritize on,” Yang Chen said as he frowned.
Earlier, Wu Yue and Mo Qianni had made a call to her. Yu Lei International had recently survived a war and struck back after all. Their stock prices had skyrocketed. The press conferences, market seminars, and other meetings had to be led and managed by Lin Ruoxi.
However, Lin Ruoxi had been ‘paralyzed’ by the events that happened just when Yu Lei needed her most.
Yang Chen didn’t put much importance on the operations of Yu Lei International. However, he couldn’t bear looking at her lifeless and depressed state.
This woman was usually called a workaholic. Yang Chen felt a trace of terror now that she had remained quiet for so long!
It wasn’t known if Lin Ruoxi managed to hear what he said. Quietly nodding, she looked at Yang Chen and asked, “You’ve known about it for sometime, haven’t you?”
Yang Chen didn’t understand what he said. However, he felt a little relieved as Lin Ruoxi finally opened her mouth. He asked, “What?”
“When that man died, I remember a doctor asking to speak to that man’s family. It was you who had gone with him. If he had a medical record, you’d be the first one to know…” Lin Ruoxi was referring to Doctor Bao whom Yang Chen had threatened at the hospital. “You told me that it wasn’t anything important. Did you attempt to hide the truth from me?”
Yang Chen knew that he couldn’t hide it from her anymore. Nodding, he said, “That’s right. I did it in your best interest. This is something that you could have lived on without knowing.”
“Are you mocking me? For whoever gave birth to me doesn’t matter, and I’m a child that nobody wants?” Lin Ruoxi asked as she smiled coldly.
Yang Chen shook his head. “You’re wrong. In my eyes, none of these things concern me. Whose daughter you were in the past didn’t matter. What matters most is… where you are now. You are... now my wife.”
Lin Ruoxi was stunned. Having stared at Yang Chen for a while, she didn’t notice any insincerity in Yang Chen’s words. His eyes were clear and had said it all. He looked incredibly serious, contrary to how he would usually behave in a happy-go-lucky manner, as if he was talking about something crucial.
Lin Ruoxi lowered her head. Her eyes had reddened a little. She bit her lips and remained silent.
Yang Chen sat by the bed and stretched his arm out to hold Lin Ruoxi’s delicate chin before lifting it to meet his eyes.
Their gazes met. Lin Ruoxi’s eyes were rather watery and reflective.
“Back then, you said that we were both scorpions. The river couldn’t drown us. The only thing which could kill us was our own venom which we couldn’t control. Since that’s the case, why do you look like you’ve lost everything after merely exposing yourself in the drizzling rain?” Yang Chen asked.
Lin Ruoxi stared at him for a while before saying, “I was just asking how you see me now that you know. Who said I needed a lecture?”
Yang Chen was shocked, but soon revealed a smile.
Lin Ruoxi pouted her mouth while she blushed a little. She wasn’t willing to look at Yang Chen anymore. “Don’t talk about something so cheesy in the future. Also, who allowed you to sit on my bed? Who let you to touch the picture? Who my parents are is none of your business…”
“I just wanted to comfort you a little.” Yang Chen smiled bitterly.
“What?!” Lin Ruoxi gave him an angry stare. “Do you mean that everything you said was fake?!”
“Ah?” Yang Chen quickly waved his hand. “Of course they’re real. Why would I lie?”
“Humph. Get out!” Lin Ruoxi’s brows finally weren’t furrowed anymore.
Yang Chen felt that he would be in danger if he stayed any longer. Thus, he hurriedly rushed out of the room.
After Lin Ruoxi heard Yang Chen’s hasty footsteps when he ran downstairs, she finally revealed a smile on her face while tenderness filled her eyes.
Lin Ruoxi took two days to recover before she was her usual self again. After returning to the company, she decisively introduced various policies in preparation for the launch of the new material, and had invested a lot of the funds earned from winning the battle into more projects, boosting the strength of Yu Lei.
Yang Chen wasn’t slacking in this period. Although the publicity of Star of Yu Lei was mainly handled by Zhao Teng and Wang Jie in addition to the cooperation of Christen, being the director, the least he could do was show his face and entertain their partners.
Christen’s fame made Yang Chen speechless. Ever since she showed up in Zhonghai, it seemed like the population of the place had risen quickly. Her fans came from all directions, causing the transportation department’s workload to multiply a few fold.
The usual non-peak periods in Zhonghai started getting traffic jams. Moreover, some of her fans had extraordinary backgrounds which the police didn’t dare to provoke.
A lot of Christen’s passionate fans even had the intentions of confessing their undying love. The entrance of the hotel she stayed in would be piled up with gifts, roses, and other flowers every day. Some of them even rushed through the human wall of security guards, causing Christen to meet some ‘fish that escaped from the net’. While she was surprised at the ‘determination’ of her Chinese fans, she happily signed autographs for them and allowed them to take pictures with her.
The hotel Christen stayed in was provided by An Xin’s father An Zaihuan. He had requested to provide a room from Jade Clouds Hotel which used to belong to the Liu clan. An Zaihuan was also a great supporter of Star of Yu Lei.
Yang Chen didn’t think An Zaihuan only did so because of profits. An Zaihuan probably wanted to get close to him, so in turn he just let things play out as they were.
Yang Chen felt the most helpless when it came to the little vixen An Xin. She would do whatever she could think of. From her time as a stewardess, she had developed a new interest—to host the show!
Under An Xin’s repeated demand, Yang Chen discussed with the show’s producer to let An Xin be the hostess of Star of Yu Lei together with the well-known host from a TV station.
An Xin passed the rehearsal with flying colors. However, the host almost said something wrong, since he heard that An Xin was the young lady of the An clan, causing him to hold ridiculous thought.
The pitiful host behaved really carefully. He was afraid that An Xin might think he had intentions on her.
To Yang Chen’s surprise, Wang Jie and Zhao Teng had invited a few VIP guests before the event started due to Christen’s arrival.
A few famous Chinese artists even showed up struggling to show their faces at the opening ceremony to give their blessing or request to participate as a judge.
At last, some of the most popular artists were picked to be the judges. They weren’t arranged to be on the same stage as Christen in the finals. They would only appear in the knockouts. However, their appearance was more than enough to attract the attention of the general population.
Being a rather new trainee, Hui Lin would be on stage later as well. The people at home were excitedly waiting for the live TV broadcast in anticipation of her performance.
At the same time, Yang Chen who had gotten a little lazy received a call from Liu Mingyu.
Elder Sister Liu sounded rather reluctant. On the phone, she said, “Yang Chen, my parents said… they want to see you tomorrow. Can you come over?”
Yang Chen was surprised. “Of course I can. I would’ve met them earlier if you weren’t this busy.”
“Actually… it’s fine if you’re not free…” Liu Mingyu suddenly said.
Although Yang Chen found her speech weird, he just thought she didn’t want to trouble him. Smiling, he said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry, Babe Mingyu. Tell me what kind of people Uncle and Aunt are so that I can be prepared.”