Chairman Husband, Too Boorish - 197

Chapter 197 : You'll be a thrice-married man when you turn back.

"... Some things, I feel, a man should handle himself. That's why I lost you a year ago, and now I don't want to have another chance to make you sad and cry.  Yan Liang, I haven't kept any of my promises to you, but I think at least you should know why I was so determined back then, and what my marriage has been like for the past year. I want to show you, do you want to see?"

His second marriage—wasn't that the one she facilitated a year ago?

Does she need to see it? Even the worst marriage is still a marriage. For a man, especially a successful man like Liang Xi Cheng, he might feel that marriage isn't the most important thing. But for a woman like Yan Liang, she has always believed that marriage is very important.

This is something she can't describe her feelings about; it's like a person's faith.

"Chairman Liang, are you trying to tell me that your marriage is actually unhappy?"

Yan Liang calmed down, taking a soft breath. "Actually, you don't need to say it. I understand. I saw Ye Qing today. If she were a wife you cherished, she wouldn't have rushed up to me like that, hitting and yelling at me to vent her anger. She can't get attention from you, so she vents on me. I understand, but what can I do? She's still your wife. I won't be with you anymore because, just like you said, you lost me a year ago."

She reached out, her grip firm. She slowly moved Liang Xi Cheng's hand away from her wrist, her gaze fixed on him. Suddenly, a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips, a smile that stirred the man's heart—

"The day I came to C City, I took a plane and watched some movies I'd downloaded beforehand. There was a line in one of the movies that deeply resonated with me, and I still remember it perfectly."

Yan Liang's slender fingers slid down Liang Xi Cheng's arm, finally grasping his hand. This was the first time she'd taken his hand since their separation and reunion. Liang Xi Cheng's heart skipped a beat, his gaze burning as he stared at her.

“That line goes like this—time teaches us many things. Some things we once thought didn’t exist, we later discover they truly do; some things we firmly believed, we later realize didn’t exist at all.”

Liang Xi Cheng’s eyes darkened, his sharp brows furrowed, and a sense of panic welled up inside him. “You don’t need to say things like that to me. All that nonsense, it’s just a movie.”

“But good movies, what touches people’s hearts, is that, like novels, they exist in life.”

Yan Liang held his hand, slowly raising it, and said to him, “Liang Xi Cheng, I don’t want to talk to you sarcastically anymore. I want to be clear with you now. Coming back from England and deciding to stay in City C was to avoid you in City A. But I know I can’t avoid you forever. One day, you’ll find out anyway. I just didn’t expect our encounter to be like this, disrupting everything. But there are some things I still want to tell you. I once thought I couldn’t live without you. Go on, now, it's taken me a year to understand that it might not be like that at all, and it probably is for you too. Don't tell me again how helpless your choice was back then. I know your helplessness, but I can't accept it. I have my principles, I'm selfish too, but what about you? You're selfish too, aren't you? Some things, once they've happened, they've happened."

She suddenly released his hand and slowly said, "A year ago, we let go of each other's hands. Now there's no need to force ourselves to hold on. In this world, not everything, not everyone, can come back to each other's hearts after going around in circles."

"And then?"

Liang Xi Cheng's thin lips tightened, his features instantly turning cold. He interrupted Yan Liang coldly, "And then, are we going to never see each other again? Do you think I'd agree to that?"

"Just because you don't agree, does that mean I have to go with you? This kind of thing doesn't need your agreement or disagreement; my agreement is enough!"

Yan Liang thought that men could be truly unreasonable sometimes!

She wanted to communicate with him calmly, but now she felt she was wrong. How could she possibly reason with this domineering man? He was simply being stubborn and willful!

"What kind of lousy movie were you watching? What kind of lousy dialogue were you spouting? You think you can fool me with this? Yan Liang, let me tell you clearly right now, don't even think about going back to C City. Even if you're in England, France, America … anywhere in the world, I've never thought of giving you up. You should know that my marriage to Ye Qing was 80% for the Liang family and 20% for my father. But a year ago, Ye Sheng Ming had some incriminating evidence against my father. I couldn't just watch him get killed without lifting a finger. In the year since I married Ye Qing, I haven't touched her. She dared to mess with you today, and I won't let her off easily. I can give you anything you want; it's just a matter of time. Can't you give me some time? It won't be long before I divorce her and marry you again …"

"You want to marry me if you want, and marry someone else if you want? Then you'll be a thrice-married man. What makes you think I'd still want to marry you? Ridiculous!"

Yan Liang fiercely pushed the man in front of her away and sneered, since he can't communicate, don't communicate, what she said was simply playing the piano to the cow!

Turning around and taking Han Qi Ming’s jacket from the conference table, Yan Liang quickly left the conference room.

Liang Xi Cheng was just about to catch up when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller number and frowned. While watching Yan Liang enter her office, he answered the phone and said, "What's going on?"

It was Guan Jiu's phone. The tone was serious, "... Chairman Liang, Ye Qing should be in City C, but Ye Sheng Ming also went to City C. I gave the people in City C the police station to let the wind out. Someone went specifically to wait for Ye Qing. There should be any news from Ye Sheng Ming's side. He went to City C overnight and rescued Ye Qing. Now the two, father and daughter are on the way back to City A. Also, there should be a problem with a batch of materials in the resort and Ye Sheng Ming."

Liang Xi Cheng's eyes were heavy, his slender fingers, flicked the edge of the door, and his thin lips hooked a cold arc, "... Ye Sheng Ming's old fox, now he still has time to make up his mind on my materials?"

"... Chairman Liang, there is one more thing. After searching for the evidence for more than a year, the master tape still hasn't been found." Guan Jiu pondered for a moment before asking cautiously, "Then now ... are you ready to move the Ye Group? I'm afraid that if something goes wrong with the master tape, it will still fail."

Ye Sheng Ming, indeed an old fox, when Liang Xi Cheng and Ye Qing married, he promised to hand over the evidence of Liang Qi Cheng, and he did take it out, but he still guarded against one hand, Liang Xi Cheng got it after it was checked, it was not the original tape, he should have copied it, so the master tape, must still be in his hands.

Liang Xi Cheng reached out and pinched the sore bridge of his nose, frowning and said, "First, wait."

"Yes."

After hanging up the phone, Liang Xi Cheng lit a cigarette, puffing out clouds of smoke. A moment later, he finally took out his phone again and called Chu Yi Sheng.

***

Yan Liang felt that Zhuo Hui was really unreliable. He said the meeting was a little early, but he still convened it on time at 2 o'clock. She, a person who didn't even eat in order not to be late, felt really angry.

However, before 2 o'clock, Yan Liang had not been able to find Zhuo Hui, this stomach of anger, held back, when the 2 o'clock meeting started on time, she saw Zhuo Hui, the eyes were as sharp as a knife, wishing to poke a few holes in Zhuo Hui's face.

"Manager Zhuo, didn't you say the meeting was advanced to 1 o'clock? What's the situation now?"

Zhuo Hui said, smiling with a relaxed look, "Ah? That's probably at noon I slept in a daze. I'm sorry Director Bai, let you run in vain. I'll treat you next dinner and compensate you."

“…”

Yan Liang was just about to say something when the person sitting around her suddenly patted her shoulder and she turned her face away to see Han Qi Ming.

"Director Bai, I've merged the two previous design drafts. Take a look. If there are no problems, I'd like to show them to Chairman Liang today. Ideally, they should be approved on the first try. Chairman Liang hasn't arrived yet; shall we take a look first?"

Liang Xi Cheng hadn't arrived yet, but hadn't he just arrived?

Yan Liang's brows furrowed. A thought suddenly struck her. The 2 PM meeting being moved to 1 PM—Zhuo Hui was spouting nonsense again, saying he was still half asleep. It was utter rubbish!

Liang Xi Cheng had just arrived by sheer coincidence, and now he wasn't here. She figured he was the one who orchestrated this whole thing!

Yan Liang's anger burned fiercely, making her stomach ache, and her face grew paler.

During that year in England, she often forgot to eat because she was rushing to finish the design drafts. The year had ruined her stomach; now, if she went too long without food, it would definitely hurt.

However, she had stomach medicine in her office, and the pain wasn't unbearable right now. Yan Liang thought, work comes first. She'd settle this score with Zhuo Hui sooner or later!

"Okay, let me take a look. If there are no problems, I'll hand it over to Chairman Liang in a bit."

Han Qi Ming took out the design drawings. Yan Liang remembered something and said apologetically, "... Oh, right, I haven't washed your suit yet. I'll bring it to you another day after I wash it."

"It's alright, I only wore it briefly, it wouldn't get dirty. Please don't bother washing it."

"It's nothing."

Yan Liang had already lowered her head, focused on the design drawings at hand, so she just gave a casual reply, not noticing the somewhat absent-minded look in Han Qi Ming's eyes as he looked at her.

She didn't see it, but Zhuo Hui, sitting opposite her, saw everything clearly.

He raised an eyebrow, then lowered his eyes imperceptibly, toying with his expensive pen. A smirk played on his lips, a hint of schadenfreude in his expression.

Yan Liang glanced at it and didn't see any problems. Actually, Han Qi Ming's comprehension was far superior to hers. Unlike her, he had accumulated countless real-world design experience, having worked on numerous projects. She, on the other hand, had just graduated from SGA, and her ideas were mostly theoretical. However, combining their concepts, and with Han Qi Ming's integration, created a unique and appealing design. At least, Yan Liang was quite satisfied.

“I think it’s great.” She suddenly looked up, meeting Han Qi Ming’s meaningful gaze.

Yan Liang’s heart skipped a beat. A little embarrassed, she looked away. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the doorway; someone walked in, and someone else stood up.

“Chairman Liang is here—”

Yan Liang’s pen twirled in her hand. At the sound of his voice, her fingertips slipped, and the pen fell to the ground. She instinctively bent down to pick it up, but Han Qi Ming was faster, bending down as well. Their heads collided with a “thud.”

“… Yan Liang, are you alright?”

Han Qi Ming called her name immediately, looking very concerned.

“…”

Yan Liang didn’t feel much pain, but Han Qi Ming seemed to be overly enthusiastic. She coughed lightly and shook her head. “… I’m fine.”

For some reason, she felt a pang of guilt.

"Your forehead is all swollen. Did you bump into something?" Actually, that spot was from when Ye Qing hit her; she accidentally bumped into it. Yan Liang had been hiding it with her bangs, so no one could see it. Just now, with that bump, she instinctively reached up to rub it, and as she brushed aside her bangs, there was indeed a red, swollen spot on her forehead.

Han Qi Ming naturally assumed this redness and swelling was from the bump he'd caused. He looked guilty and very anxious. "Let's go to the hospital? I see you're bleeding. Did you bump into something? I was just trying to help you pick up your pen, Yan Liang, I ..."

"I'm really fine."

Yan Liang's emotional intelligence was only average, but it wasn't like she'd never been pursued before. Back in England, Demon had given her quite a headache, so now she always had a psychological aversion to men who were suddenly very enthusiastic towards her.

What she didn't know was that she seemed to have never considered any man other than Liang Xi Cheng.

Regardless of who the other person was, she seemed to have no idea that there was any chance of anything developing between them.

"But you ... don't look too good."

"It's nothing, I didn't eat lunch, my stomach might be a little upset—"

Yan Liang offered an explanation, and the man directly above her suddenly sat down, slamming the documents in his hand onto the table with a loud thud. Everyone was startled, and Yan Liang fell silent as well. Turning her head, she saw Liang Xi Cheng sitting there with a somber expression. His refined features exuded a cold and aloof air, instantly lowering the atmosphere in the conference room by more than 10 degrees.

"Where are the design drawings? Director Bai, bring them here. Let me take a look first," the man said, his voice deep and cold, carrying a hint of indifference and distance.

Yan Liang, however, was more than happy to accept this. Ideally, he would always be so cold and indifferent to her; only then could she work with peace of mind.

He wants the design drawings, is that it?

Yan Liang picked up the drawings beside her and had her assistant hand them over.

"Director Bai, bring it here, and explain it to me while you're at it." Liang Xi Cheng tapped the table lightly with his long, elegant fingers, raising one eyebrow. His tone, seemingly businesslike, was clearly a pretext for personal gain in Yan Liang's ears.

Chapter 196        |        TOC        |        Chapter 198