Returning - Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Goodnight
[Kuangshiji Group Announcement on the Replacement of Certain Company Directors]
[Mr. Shang Chen is relieved of his duties as a director. Mr. Shang Lu is elected as a company director. Mr. Shang Chen will no longer hold any company position.]
Extracting the key content from this announcement on her computer, Zhao Yu couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile.
In just over a year since returning to the country, Shang Lu had successfully entered the board of directors, outright supplanting his eldest brother Shang Chen. It seemed his years of meticulous planning were beginning to bear fruit.
It wasn't that she felt this version of Shang Lu would be more beneficial to her; Zhao Yu was simply, sincerely happy for him.
After all, there probably wasn't a second person in this world who could understand Shang Lu's feelings over these years better than she could.
Opening her phone, she sent Shang Lu a brief [Congratulations]. Just as she was about to exit WeChat, she received another new message. It was from Xu Chengyan:
[Don't overthink it]
At first glance, these four words seemed comforting, but combined with the previous messages, it was clearly another instance of that Boss Xu's typical sarcastic mode.
Earlier, while tidying up her room, she'd seen the jewelry set Ji Sui had given her. On a whim, she searched the Lanxi official website for a picture of another limited edition piece and sent it to Xu Chengyan, captioned:
[I've got my eye on this. Will my sugar daddy buy it for me?]
And now, Xu Chengyan's reply was, as expected, pretty much what she had guessed.
Zhao Yu: [Never seen such a stingy domineering CEO]
Xu Chengyan: [Xue Zhan isn't stingy. Three hundred thousand a pop, really generous]
Clearly, he had only gritted his teeth and agreed to keep her at ten times the price to save face, yet now he was getting cocky about it. Zhao Yu scoffed, locked her phone, and couldn't be bothered to reply.
In the early evening, she sent Ji Sui a message saying she had to work overtime, then cautiously went out again, heading to Shang Lu's villa.
The so-called "still need a month before I can leave Huacan" was naturally a lie to Ji Sui. In truth, the very day she submitted her resignation, Xue Zhan had already let her go. This was her explanation for Xu Chengyan.
Anyway, Xu Chengyan was busy with work and didn't need to see her that often. Besides, at her current high price, that cheapskate couldn't afford her too many times anyway. She could perfectly navigate between the two men, Ji Sui and Xu Chengyan.
As for seeing Shang Lu, the main reason was to confirm the state of his injuries from the last car accident.
When she arrived, Shang Lu hadn't returned from work yet. She knew the door code, so she went to a nearby market, bought groceries, and went into the kitchen to seriously prepare dinner for him, just like she had during those three years in America.
She had imagined Shang Lu must be very tired and worn out these days, but the moment she actually saw him, she still froze for a second.
The Shang Lu before her now was even more gaunt and haggard than she'd imagined; his complexion completely unlike that of a normal, healthy person.
"Go wash your hands and eat." After staring at the man who had just come home for a long moment, these were the only words she could manage.
"Mm." Shang Lu smiled. He walked up to her, pulled her into his arms for a brief embrace, and then headed into the bathroom.
Sitting face to face, after a few bites, she asked, "Are your injuries all healed?"
"Healed. They just looked serious; they were all superficial wounds."
After answering, he naturally updated her on the current situation: "My dad no longer trusts Shang Chen. Once Shang Chen falls, Shang Kun and Shang Xun will fall with him."
"I know." Zhao Yu nodded. Pausing, she looked up at him again. "I saw the surveillance video of the car accident online. It was truly… very dangerous."
"If it wasn't dangerous, it wouldn't achieve the desired effect. My father's bottom line is a human life."
That was why, four years ago, his three brothers only dared to break his right leg, leaving him barely alive and suffering immeasurable pain, but didn't dare to actually take his life. And this recent car crash, the young and impetuous Shang Xun was indeed aiming to kill him.
As for why Shang Xun would do something so foolish, Zhao Yu could guess without much thought. It was probably just like Yu Fei, who secretly switched her orange juice back then—Shang Lu covertly provoked him a few times, and he lost his patience.
The Shang family's four brothers had been fighting each other for many years. The three of them conspiring together against Shang Lu was simply because Shang Lu was the most outstanding and the one they feared most. But after defeating Shang Lu, the infighting among the three of them still continued relentlessly. Unfortunately, no one knew this; on the surface, they still presented a united front.
Shang Chen was too cunning and hard to deal with directly, so they had to start with Shang Xun, pushing him into a corner, then letting the equally unwise Shang Kun walk right into the trap, solidifying the fact that the three brothers conspired to murder Shang Lu, dragging Shang Chen down with them.
However, these schemes that required risking one's life could only be used within internal family struggles. Zhao Yu knew that what truly allowed Shang Lu to join the board was the fierce, desperate effort he'd put into his work all these years.
Some people are born lucky. Dull and foolish as Shang Kun and Shang Xun were, they still held high positions in the company, getting whatever they wanted.
Some people are born with a cheap fate. Thicker than water blood ties were barely enough to save their life. No matter how many great contributions you made for the company, a few provocative words from others and you'd be demoted just like that. A broken leg drew less concern than someone else's common cold.
Seeing Shang Lu silently lowering his head, Zhao Yu said softly, "They forced your hand."
So, there was no need to feel guilt over brothers turning against each other. This was merely self-preservation. Besides, considering what those people had done in the past, they were unworthy of the word "brothers."
Shang Lu smiled, placing food into her bowl with his chopsticks. "The food you make has always been delicious."
He was indeed too exhausted. In the mere time it took Zhao Yu to wash the dishes, he had already fallen asleep, leaning back on the sofa.
Unable to carry him to the bed, she could only fetch a blanket from the room and drape it over him. Carefully supporting his body, she tried to lie him down flat, but ended up waking him anyway.
Seeing him open his eyes, Zhao Yu whispered, "Go to bed to sleep."
He looked at her and smiled. "Sleep with me."
"Okay."
Getting up from the sofa, he quickly went to the bathroom for a rapid shower before collapsing weakly onto the bed.
After freshening up in the other bathroom, Zhao Yu entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed. With a big pull of his hand, he gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly.
Zhao Yu adjusted her position, nestling obediently in his embrace, and pulled the blanket up to cover them both.
He soon closed his eyes, his head resting in the crook of her neck, gently nuzzling against her skin.
"Zhao Yu." Reaching from behind to hold her hand, he called her name in a low voice and said, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
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