The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 8 - 4
Chapter 8 - 4
There was a research project at the institute spearheaded by Kang Long, who led a team to inspect the mountainous regions of Hebei province. They were still looking at chestnuts, aiming to unearth local primitive varieties. Yu Shuang was working from home. After sitting for a long time, the moment she stood up, she felt a sudden rush of heat down below. Unsure whether it was water or blood, it began leaking out in a steady stream along her leg.
The situation was critical. Kang Long was away, Chairman Kang was no help, and Sister Jia's phone was unreachable, leaving her with no choice but to turn to Rui for help.
In the hospital ward, Yu Shuang lay with a pale face while Yu Rui kept vigil beside her. Rui had experienced all of this herself, though Shuang's miscarriage was an accident, whereas her own past experience had been a deliberate choice to part ways with her child. Rui could never have imagined that Shuang would skip marriage altogether and go straight for a baby. Yet facing Shuang in this state, Rui found herself unable to ask a single question.
Yu Shuang was in agony.
It was not merely physical pain; this child had forced her to recognize her own "specialness." As a woman, unlike a man, she had to pay a heavy biological price for reproduction. Every single month she bled in an endless, cyclical renewal of life—yet now, that life had been abruptly cut short right down the middle.
It was her own fault.
Kang Long rushed to the hospital, and Yu Rui pulled him outside to ask about the situation. Kang Long answered honestly, leaving Rui completely speechless. This was simply how they operated; while they appeared to be part of mainstream society, the things they actually did were far more rebellious than someone like her, an actress.
After staying in the hospital for a few days, Yu Shuang went home to undergo the traditional month-long postpartum recovery known as "doing the month." Kang Long hired the finest live-in nanny, and Yu Rui dropped by from time to time to check on her.
Shuang strictly forbade Rui from telling Sister Jia and Sister Meng.
Yu Rui let out a scoff, "They don't have the time to care anyway."
Rui was currently harboring a great deal of dissatisfaction toward both Yu Jia and Yu Meng.
After Yu Jia and Bai Yuankai returned from Japan, the eatery underwent an immediate makeover. According to Yu Xi, Bai had invested funds, and the shop had been renamed Jiayuan House. Just listen to that name—the implications were glaringly obvious! Yu Xi officially resigned and jumped ship. When Yuankai offered a token gesture to retain her, Yu Xi stood firm, and he let her go without hesitation. Because of this, Yu Xi broke down in a flood of tears—this had been her ultimate test. Had Yuankai fought tooth and nail to keep her, she might have changed her mind.
Desperate to keep her younger sister and panicking like a drowning man clutching at straws, Yu Rui brought up the idea of introducing her to another executive. Furious, Yu Xi snapped, "Sis! Not everyone is obsessed with hanging around executives! You do a job, you earn a meal—it's not that complicated!"
Rui was left utterly speechless by the retort. A few days later, Yu Xi started her new job and moved out.
When Yu Rui stopped by Yu Jia's shop for a visit, she probed indirectly, "Teacher Bai drops by quite often, huh?"
"Every now and then." Busy with her work, Yu Jia showed no sign of awkwardness.
"Did he invest in this shop?"
"He holds a small share."
She was entirely open and upfront about it, willingly admitting the fact.
"Teacher Bai is certainly good to Sister Jia," Rui said with a smile, referring to him strictly in the third person.
"It's a good investment project." Yu Jia maintained her relaxed, unbothered demeanor, completely devoid of any defensive awkwardness.
Listen to that—she still insisted on framing it purely as a good business project. She hadn't realized it before, but now Yu Rui genuinely believed that classic beauties like Sister Jia were the most terrifying kind: high-level "green teas." They clearly pulled off "green tea" maneuvers, yet managed to make every action look like it stemmed from pure, unadulterated sincerity.
Men fell for that routine every single time.
It was like a gentle spring breeze dampening the earth silently and imperceptibly—the absolute highest tier of mastery.
An even more worrisome headache was Yu Meng. Ever since stepping down from her post as chief assistant, Rui's friendship with Ye Cha had grown even sturdier than before. According to leaks from Ye Cha, President Yu—meaning Yu Meng—had been getting thick as thieves with President Han recently, the two of them frequently chatting away into the small hours of the night.
Rui asked, "Into the middle of the night? What on earth do they talk about?"
Ye Cha replied, "Life, what else?" and added, "With a guy like President Han, your intellectual level has to keep pace with his. If you can keep the conversation stimulating and comfortable for him, anything can be arranged."
He truly lived up to being a veteran secretary of many years. The idiosyncrasies of his old boss had been mapped out down to the finest detail.
Yu Meng had figured out the winning formula too. Recently, she had been furiously cramming Buddhist philosophy, solely to ensure she had shared topics of conversation with Han Guang. By this point, Yu Meng felt she had successfully defeated Weng Yue, securing her place as Han Guang's favored confidante. Yet, she was nowhere close to being his lover. Not a single romantic development had occurred between her and Han Guang. Although Yu Meng had devised several strategic playbooks—such as launching a flanking maneuver through Han Xiqian or mounting a direct frontal assault...
None of it worked.
Yu Meng discovered that Han Guang was entirely different from Zu Liangcai. Liang才 retained a touch of intellectual romanticism, whereas Han Guang possessed none. Coming from a mercantile background, he spoke strictly in terms of business. There was a cold, unyielding hardness to him, and Yu Meng sensed that he merely viewed her as a business partner—or at most, a soulmate for late-night philosophical chats over Buddhism.
And that was it.
It was always quantitative accumulation, never a qualitative leap.
Yu Meng felt exhausted. Yet through her collaboration with Han Guang, she realized a whole new world had opened up for her. If the path of romance refused to lead anywhere, wasn't there still her career? In the past, Yu Meng had never imagined she could pull off grand, major enterprises. But under Han Guang's guidance and illumination, her vision had expanded and her ambitions had ballooned. A sudden thought struck her: that's right, if she could build herself into a financial powerhouse of her own, why on earth would she need to obsessively marry into one? Reaching this stage, Yu Meng finally understood why a certain actress had once made such soaring, thunderous declarations back in the day.
Times change, and so do circumstances. In the arena of business, she, Yu Meng, possessed genuine talent. Trampling a small fry like Luan Chengyun beneath her feet would be effortless.
With a favorable wind aiding her strength, it would launch her straight up to the azure clouds. Why shouldn't she?!
Following the postpartum care center venture, Han Guang secured a wind power plant project. While it wasn't the biggest deal within the group, Yu Meng felt that if she could secure this single account, her career would essentially scale a brand-new tier. Previously, everything she handled fell under "women's industries"; if she now had the fortune to dabble in the energy sector, it meant hacking her way through a dense forest of men—a feat of extraordinary significance.
Naturally, Weng Yue was well aware of this news. In the past, Han Guang had wanted to break into the power industry but could never secure the official approvals; when Weng Yue wanted to pioneer territory in the Northwest, he had vetoed it. Yet now, Yu Meng was trying to get her hands on it. Instead of speaking up herself, Weng Yue commissioned Ye Cha to lodge a mild, indirect protest—only to trigger a backlash and run straight into a brick wall. It left Ye Cha complaining to Yu Rui that whenever the immortals went to war, they always used him as a spear, even though he wasn't a magic artifact!
Having gauged Han Guang's stance, Weng Yue promptly chose to hold her tongue. She had already received more than enough over the years. Besides, Han Guang had shown her rare consideration by keeping his word to help arrange a gig for Weng Yang—managing a hotel as a high-end innkeeper down in Hengdian. However, this also stirred up a vague sense of unease in Weng Yue; first he propped her up, and now he was helping Weng Yang. It felt as though Han Guang was preparing to let go and cleanly sever this final lingering thread of "familial obligation."
Taking advantage of an afternoon tea session, Weng Yue seized the opportunity to quietly undermine Yu Meng in front of Mrs. Xin. Holding her red tea saucer, Mrs. Xin's eyes lit up with sudden astonishment. "Oh my, such grand ambitions! I never took her for that type before."
Weng Yue remarked, "She hides it deep."
Mrs. Xin teased, "Weren't you the one who brought her into the fold?"
Offering a bitter, forced smile, Weng Yue stayed silent.
Putting down her tea saucer, Mrs. Xin observed, "I don't understand these people. Given the current economic climate, everyone is pulling back their tentacles—how is it that some people are still looking to expand? When you stretch your operations too thin, a tall tree catches the wind."
Her words stopped abruptly, leaving the rest unsaid.
Weng Yue sensed an infinite depth of meaning behind the statement. What kind of network did the Xin family possess? How much information could they access? Naturally, they could view the big picture far more comprehensively than people like them. Knowing when to conceal your strength and when to reveal it was an art form—unlike newcomers like Yu Meng, who were mere upstarts dressed up in borrowed luxury, with no guarantees of whether they would still be standing tomorrow. Preserving an empire was far more difficult than founding one.
Weng Yue sometimes wondered: with such a massive family fortune, who would Han Guang hand it down to in the future? Would it all go to Xiqian? Whichever man managed to marry her would truly be blessed. Yu Meng had considered this exact angle too, which was why she had been so dead set on inviting Xiqian to Haoyu's birthday gathering. It was her fallback insurance.
If the mother failed, there was still the son—two flowers in play, and as long as one of them bloomed, victory was secured.
Yet right at this moment, Yu Meng was abruptly hit with a formidable conundrum—one she believed was Han Guang's ultimate test for her.