The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 6 - 7

Chapter 6 - 7

Yu Meng went to see Yu Shuang, wanting to ask how to properly thank Yuankai.

Regarding the federation leadership transition, Xiaobai had genuinely helped out. Crucially, his intervention had actually worked; the chairperson's attitude was now leaning more toward Yu Meng's side.

All rivers flow to the sea, and the will of the people pointed in her direction. Yu Meng was simply waiting to defeat Weng Yue and secure the final committee seat. Therefore, preparations for showing gratitude had to begin right away.

When she arrived at Shuang's place, an old man opened the door. With half-white hair and high spirits, his gaze was piercingly sharp. Yu Meng felt he looked a bit familiar, yet she couldn't quite remember where she had seen him.

The old man shook hands with her.

Shuang came out and made the introduction, "This is Chairman Kang." Chun'er greeted her, saying, "Hello, Auntie."

Yu Meng hurriedly bent her waist at a seventy-five-degree angle. "Pleased to meet you, truly pleased to meet you." She assumed Yu Shuang had changed her strategy, dumped Kanglong, and found herself an old man instead. Once they had a moment to speak privately, Yu Meng finally figured out that the old man was Kanglong's father.

This little hussy! She really had the nerve!

Yu Meng murmured softly, "Just a single man and a single woman, cohabitating in the same room..." She left the rest unsaid, heavy with implication. Yu Shuang chided her, "Sister, where is your mind wandering? That's an elder." Yu Shuang was displeased that Yu Meng related everything back to men and romance.

"Have you figured it out?"

"What?"

"Marriage."

"Out of the question."

"Then what are you paving the way for? Opening a nursing home?"

Yu Shuang had no choice but to lay out the truth about owing Kanglong a favor. Yu Meng suddenly understood, then urged, "Many things can't be handled with such a one-to-one sense of fairness."

"You're doing the exact same thing, trying to repay Old Bai's favor."

Yu Meng hurriedly waved her hands. "You two are a couple, while I'm just a friend. Those are two completely different things."

As Yu Shuang gathered the documents on the table, she said, "It's all the same thing. Everyone has to abide by the universe's law of the conservation of energy." Knowing that persuasion was useless, Yu Meng dropped the subject. She proceeded to recount her own situation to Yu Shuang, her intent crystal clear: first, she wanted her help to analyze the situation; second, she wanted to ask if she could find someone to help. Although Liang Cai was currently her main force, along with assistance from Liren, Yuankai, and various other pursuers (some of whom had already given up), Yu Meng felt you could never have too many paths, just to be safe.

Yu Shuang said she could help ask around, but couldn't guarantee anything. As for analyzing the situation, Yu Shuang had no way out of it; she relied entirely on her own professional operations and wasn't entirely clear on how to navigate the backchannels. However, Yu Shuang strongly recommended Chairman Kang. As an elderly person who had previously worked within the administrative system, he possessed a wealth of experience.

"What kind of chairman was he?" Yu Meng asked.

"A labor union chairman," Yu Shuang replied. In her heart, Yu Meng looked down on that, but then she figured that having one more person offer advice was always better—two heads are better than one, and three cobblers can outwit Zhuge Liang. Little did they know that when the two of them went to seek Chairman Kang's counsel, the old man's face dropped instantly, and he bluntly declared: "First of all, that chairperson has no principles whatsoever. Whoever it is, it should be whoever has the ability and the qualifications. Serving the people is not something where you play favorites or rely on connections. You shouldn't be engaging in these crooked, back-alley dealings either. You need to purge the selfish and distracting thoughts from your hearts. Selfishness—do you understand? Chairman Mao's greatest opposition was the very word 'self'! And look at you now! Selfishness is running completely rampant!"

Yu Shuang was dumbfounded, and Yu Meng was displeased. Yet because the old man kept stringing his words together without stopping, the two of them had no choice but to endure a forty-minute lecture. As soon as they stepped outside, Yu Meng shook her head. Yu Shuang, however, felt that Chairman Kang's words made a certain amount of sense. Still, seeing how obsessed Sister Meng was, she didn't have the heart to advise her to withdraw from the competition.

The leadership transition was still brewing.

Yu Meng had already grown deeply enthusiastic about the association's work. During this upcoming trip for a field investigation, Yu Meng volunteered herself to lead the team on a journey to the southeast. Although Liang Cai had warned her not to waste effort on a dead person, Yu Meng figured that wasting effort on a living person should work just fine.

Weng Yue's older brother, Weng Yang, was a breakthrough point.

Upon arriving at their destination and settling their tasks, Yu Meng gave Weng Yang a call. Weng Yang was flustered and flattered; ever since they had met, this was the first time Yu Meng had proactively called him.

Yu Meng acted completely natural, explaining she was there on a business trip and wanted to check in on an old friend while she was in the area.

Weng Yang relaxed his vigilance and lavishly hosted a banquet table. After a few glasses went down the hatch, Yu Meng smiled and suddenly let out a sigh. When Weng Yang asked what was wrong—was the hospitality inadequate?—Yu Meng said, "I feel it's terribly unfair to you."

Weng Yang shrank his neck slightly and downed another drink. "I'm used to it."

"In terms of character and talent, you are top-notch," Yu Meng said, holding up a thumb. "If Elder Sister Weng Qin were still around, no matter how you look at it, you ought to be... executive vice president."

emboldened by the alcohol, Weng Yang grew bold. Knowing that his younger sister was on good terms with Yu Meng, he assumed all these family matters had been told to her by Weng Yue.

"It's my fault for being a man. If I were a woman, I'd probably have made it by now."

What did that mean? This sentence was crucial; the snake had emerged from its hole, and Yu Meng continued to lead him on.

"The eldest sister's departure was also rather unclear," she probed cautiously.

Weng Yang let out another sigh.

"Yueyue is simply too greedy. No matter what, she shouldn't have gone with her brother-in-law..."

"She just has too much ambition! And not enough fate to carry it!" Weng Yang shouted loudly. "All these years, apart from me, her older brother, who else could support her? Who else could forgive her?!"

A heaven-shattering explosion of a revelation. Yu Meng's suspicions were confirmed: Weng Yue had meddled in her older sister and brother-in-law's marriage, leading directly to her sister's death, which was why her niece had never accepted her. Hahaha! Yu Meng roared with laughter internally. This was a scandalous secret! She had searched everywhere without finding a single clue, only to have it drop right into her lap without any effort at all.

She hurriedly pressed further, "How did the eldest sister actually die?"

Weng Yang waved a large hand. "Let's not talk about this! Mengmeng, if all the women in the world were as fine as you..." Yu Meng couldn't bear to listen anymore. Stop, stop, stop. This man truly lacked any redeeming qualities—even though he had helped her, she looked down on him all the more. A man must not have a loose tongue! Did he think his mouth was his wife's waistband? Disastrous! Consequently, Yu Meng poured a round of toasts, acting like Baochan, and Weng Yang quickly collapsed, dead drunk and entirely unconscious. When he woke up, he would have forgotten everything.

After Han Xiqian left, Yu Rui received a salary raise.

It was Ye Cha who informed her.

As he spoke, he slanted his brows slightly. "Please continue to look out for me in the future, Alice." Yu Rui smiled and replied that she should be the one asking Jack to look out for her. Ye Cha chuckled. "You're the first person who managed to handle that little girl." He left the second half unsaid: once you've handled the little girl, you might just be able to handle her old man.

Yu Rui naturally understood the implication behind Ye Cha's sudden flattery, but she had never entertained thoughts in that direction. It was just like mountain climbing—she would leave Mount Everest to people like Yu Meng, while she was quite content climbing the medium-tier peaks.

Instead, Yu Rui felt indirectly grateful to Han Xiqian; had she not come, Yu Rui wouldn't have had a reason to interact so much with Yuankai. Because she wanted to thank him, she had invited him out to dinner, and he had returned the favor. Back and forth, the two of them formed a habit of frequently dining together in the building, growing increasingly understanding of one another.

Yu Rui treated Yuankai as a friend without harboring inappropriate fantasies, which made their interactions feel much more natural and comfortable. Yuankai remained as sunny and idealistic as ever.

Between the two of them sat a triple-seafood spaghetti, a signature Chen-style chicken drumstick rice, and an estate roasted vegetable salad. Yu Rui ate her pasta in small bites. One had to maintain poise.

Yuankai asked casually, "How come you haven't found a boyfriend yet?"

What's this, playing matchmaker? Yu Rui's first reaction was to brush it off. Her past entanglements with Zu, with Shi, and with Huangqi could not be mentioned at all.

Yuankai smiled. "I never meddle in those things."

"I'm stuck working 996 all day long."

"That's no excuse."

"You haven't found one either, have you?" Yu Rui counterattacked.

"Just broke up with one recently." He gave a wry smile. It was the one arranged by his family; breaking up took quite a bit of effort. "I'm almost turning out just like Yu Shuang."

Yu Rui smiled sweetly. "You can't compare to her. She's even more thorough about not getting married than getting married—she's even taking care of Kanglong's old man."

Yuankai said he had heard about that, calling it quite miraculous, and added, "She doesn't live a tiring life."

Yu Rui disagreed. "Not tiring? Her younger brother passed away, leaving behind three children, and she's carrying her eldest niece on her shoulders. With that kind of responsibility, how could it not be tiring?"

Yuankai admitted that he had simplified the matter.

"Didn't you used to date a princess?" she seized the opportunity to ask.

Yuankai waved his hand dismissively. "Youthful ignorance; it couldn't be taken seriously."

"That's something countless people dream of."

"Even if someone handed me a royal son-in-law's position, I couldn't take it; I can't stand those kinds of restrictions," he said. "I'd rather just down-to-earthly accomplish a few things. Money and fame aren't important to me."

How noble. A sense of adoration welled up naturally within Yu Shuang's heart. She simply loved this purity of his. Yuankai asked how Xiaoqi was doing lately. Yu Rui was surprised, not expecting him to still remember Yu Qi. Yu Shuang said she was about to graduate and her job hadn't been nailed down yet. He asked what she had studied. Yu Rui replied that her major was public service management, with a minor in accounting, and she had already obtained her accounting certificate. Seizing the moment, Yu Rui asked him to keep an eye out to see if there were any good positions available.

"Why not have her come to our company? We're short on people," he said casually as he ate.

"Stop joking."

"I'm serious," Yuankai said. "Have her send over a resume."

Bai Yuankai's sudden invitation sent a flurry of thoughts through Yu Rui's mind. She felt both happy and saddened. What made her happy was that if her younger sister could enter Yuankai's company, it would be immensely beneficial to her future career development—an opportunity that could not be missed. What made her sad was that he had never extended such an invitation to her, Yu Rui. Was she unsuitable? Too old? Or lacked the necessary skills and experience? The only explanation was that he simply hadn't placed her in his heart. Thinking of this, Yu Rui also felt that Bai Yuankai perhaps wasn't as pure as she had believed him to be. He was more sophisticated, doing everything without leaving a trace, making people accept it willingly, yet unconsciously moving everything forward toward his predetermined goal. Could it be that Yuankai liked Yu Qi? Yes, her younger sister was innocent, a blank sheet of paper that any man would want to paint upon when he saw her. Even Yuankai was no exception.

Yu Rui couldn't help feeling a tinge of jealousy toward her sister.

She suppressed this news for three days before finally telling Yu Qi. After all, they were blood sisters; if Yu Qi could love someone in her stead and become family with him in this lifetime, Yu Rui would consider herself satisfied. She asked Yu Qi to send over a resume, passed it along to Yuankai, and then quietly awaited good news.