That night, the kitchen light was on. He Suichen, wearing a pair of dark grey trousers, stood in front of the marble counter, slowly stirring the chicken soup in the pot with a spoon. After it had been stewing for a long time, he scooped out half a spoonful to taste it.
Then, he added the prepared lotus seeds and candied dates with very skillful movements.
He Sui lowered his eyes, looking at the candied dates in the boiling soup, which were like a touch of red, just like when he was a child, he was craving for chicken soup in the middle of the night, and his elder brother secretly cooked it for him in the kitchen.
Children aged five or six are at the right age to eat.
He could not stand being hungry. Being raised by the old patriarch, he often felt hungry after dinner, but no one would give him snacks to satisfy his cravings. Even his daily meals were allocated by the housekeeper strictly according to the nutritional needs of the child.
The only thing that could improve his food and satisfy his cravings was the two days a week when his brother came to visit him.
The half-grown child woke up the younger one in the dead of night, wrapped him casually in a coat, and carried him to the kitchen. While everyone in the old house had gone to bed, He Yunjian did not dare to turn on the light. He lit a candle and placed it on the stove, then put him on a stool.
In the dim light, the boy's face was thin, with black eyes and white skin, and his fingers were hot.
"Don't make a sound. If the clan leader finds out, you won't have any chicken soup to drink."
He nodded silently, keeping his mouth tightly shut. His dark, watery eyes watched his elder brother take out half a chicken from the refrigerator, then take out some lotus seeds and candied dates from his pocket and throw them in. Afraid that he couldn't see clearly, he stood on tiptoe on a stool, holding onto a corner of the stove with an unstable center of gravity.
He Yunjian dipped his chopsticks to taste the food and heard a voice behind him: "Brother, I want some too."
He turned around and saw his brother standing on the stool precariously. Seeing that he was about to fall, he quickly ran over to help him. The young man said in a low, hoarse voice with restrained anger: "Be careful not to fall and become a little idiot. Your brother will not support you for the rest of your life... Then you will be lying on the bed alone, and there will be no chicken soup to drink!"
…
A few drops of liquid splashed out of the chicken leg in the pot and landed on the back of He Suichen's cold white hand. The slight pain was like a needle piercing his skin. He calmly turned down the fire and washed away the scorching heat with cold water.
It was very quiet late at night. After wiping the water droplets off his fingers, he walked to the living room, picked up his phone, then returned to the kitchen and dialed a number with his long fingers.
When Yu Siqing saw the call from He Sui Chen, she was surprised for a few seconds. She raised her hand to signal her secretary to stop reporting, then stood up and left the meeting room, and walked outside to a floor-to-ceiling window to answer the call.
He seldom calls her in person. If there is something, he asks his secretary to talk to her.
After Yu Siqing answered the call, she hesitated and said, "Sui Chen?"
He Suichen's voice was neither cold nor indifferent, without any emotion: "I will let Zhou Fanyue go back to work."
Yu Siqing smiled on her gentle face and said gratefully, "Thank you."
He Suichen didn't say much, and mentioned to her: "I was in New York, and I went to see my eldest brother and Jiafan."
Yu Siqing paused for a moment and asked softly, "Jia Fan, do you miss your mother?"
She asked this question without any hope in her heart.
When she gave birth to Yu Jiafan, she had a difficult delivery. After being rescued from the brink of death, she was told the tragic news that another person had lost his love.
During those two years, Yu Siqing was unable to face the son she had given birth to with all her might. She fell into an extremely painful state of depression, and kept thinking, if she had not had a difficult delivery that day, would He Yunjian have been able to avoid the car accident
Later, He Sui Chen came to New York from China and hired top experts to treat her mental illness. When her condition improved, Yu Siqing discovered that Yu Jiafan was even sicker than her and was diagnosed with autism by the doctor.
This undoubtedly dealt her a heavy blow, and it was too late to make up for her love for her child.
Gradually, Yu Siqing observed that the child liked to be close to He Yunjian more than her as a mother.
He Suichen did not mention a word on the phone whether Yu Jiafan missed his mother, but suddenly said: "Sister-in-law, when I return to China, I will bring Qingwu and treat you to a simple meal."
Yu Siqing adjusted her mood a little and congratulated him: "Let me treat you. I have been bothering you for help all these years."
"You're welcome. You and Jiafan are both big brother's closest relatives, and so am I."
After hanging up the phone with He Sui Chen.
Yu Siqing lowered her head and found Zhou Fanyue's contact information in the address book. When she was about to click to dial, she paused for a moment.
For some reason, her intuition gave her an indescribable strange premonition.
I always feel that there is something fishy about He Sui Chen's sudden concession.
Really, it doesn't suit his temperament.
Yu Siqing racked her brains but couldn't figure it out, so she called Zhou Fanyue anyway.
After learning from her that she could return to the company to resume work, Zhou Fanyue laughed and said, "It seems that Gu Qingwu's charm is just this level."
Yu Siqing sighed softly: "Fanyue, He Suichen is used to restraining his nature, and he is very cunning. Even I have not been able to see through him for so many years... Even if Gu Qingwu had not taken the position and broken this precedent, there would be other women in the future. Why do you have to go against her?"
He Suichen has been practicing Buddhism and Taoism for many years, and there is no woman around him, which gives Zhou Fanyue the illusion that he may never have a woman outside in his life. Then Yu Siqing and her son's status will always be as solid as a mountain.
Yu Jiafan is the only heir of the He family.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qingwu appeared halfway and relied on his face to get entangled with He Sui Chen.
Zhou Fanyue had a strong sense of crisis and said on the phone: "Siqing, are you willing? Back then... you admitted to me in person that you loved He Suichen."
"Stop talking."
Yu Siqing interrupted her and said self-deprecatingly: "I was crazy at that time. I couldn't accept that He Yunjian would become a vegetable and never wake up... I transferred my feelings for He Yunjian to He Suichen. Fortunately, things didn't reach the point of no return. After all, he left me with dignity."
Zhou Fanyue sneered, "How many seven years do women have? When you started working and studying abroad, you devoted your youth to the man lying on the hospital bed. You had a difficult labor for him, and you gave birth to the child even if you had to sacrifice your life for him. You also suffered from severe depression and attempted suicide three times... For so many years, He Suichen's care for you and your child was all to pay off his brother's debt."
"He Suichen also gave all his brother's property to me and the child."
"Is he willing to give up the position of heir to the He family?"
"Pan Yue..."
"Okay, I get it. I'll avoid Gu Qingwu next time I see her."
Zhou Fanyue's tone was perfunctory. After hanging up the phone, she picked up the coffee cup and took a sip. What she was thinking in her heart was... Beautiful women are bound to have tempers. Gu Qingwu was afraid that she had touched He Suichen's reverse scale this time and fell flat on her face.
Even if she wants to meet this kind of person in the upper circle in the future, it will be extremely difficult.
Half an hour later.
Zhou Fanyue changed into a dark blue suit and skirt, and went to the company in high heels. During her suspension, she had become the laughing stock of countless people. Now that she was back, everyone stopped what they were doing, stood up and greeted her, "Sister Fanyue."
In the company, Zhou Fanyue learned her image from Yu Siqing and treated people like a sister next door.
With such good relationships with people and Lu Qinan as her backer, she has been doing smoothly in the workplace.
When I walk into the chairman's office, I usually pull down the blinds.
Zhou Fanyue saw the man in a suit sitting on the office chair, and walked over in a very good mood, pulled his arm away, and sat on his lap: "They say men have no heart, you really acted it out to the fullest... He Suichen suppressed me, and you cooperated to add insult to injury. Don't you feel sorry for me?"
Lu Qinan was middle-aged, and he couldn't help but let her act like a spoiled child. He pulled her off his lap and said in a deep voice, "Speak properly."
Zhou Fanyue leaned against the corner of the table and looked at his serious expression coldly, but she was not sad. After all, she knew better than anyone that the reason why Lu Qinan noticed a small employee like her from a company with thousands of people was very simple:
Her best friend was close to He Sui Chen, and Lu Qinan promoted her to the top in order to consolidate his relationship with the He Group.
Seven years ago, Zhou Fanyue loved Lu Qinan's maturity and stability, as well as the power he gave her. But behind all this, there is a premise, that is, Yu Siqing's position in He Suichen cannot be shaken.
She had long given up hope of marrying Lu Qinan and taking his place as his ex-wife's twins. She asked with a half-smile on her lips, "Old Lu, why did you call me to the company?"
Zhou Fanyue was just waiting for Lu Qinan to inform her that he had been reinstated, but the next second, she saw him take out a contract agreement from the drawer and put it on the table.
Lu Qinan tapped his knuckles on it. His voice was plain and emotionless: "The company has decided to transfer you from your current position to a newly opened branch abroad as the general manager."
When Zhou Fanyue saw the contract, the smile on her heavily made-up face had long since disappeared: "A promotion in name only, but a demotion in reality?"
Lu Qinan now maintained a normal relationship with her as a boss and subordinate, and there was no longer any affection in bed as before. This time he was just giving her a notice, not looking for her to discuss things.
"Fan Yue, you know how many people on the company's board of directors are keeping an eye on me. I need the benefits that He Sui Chen can provide."
When it comes to the exchange of interests between men, women have nothing to do with it.
Zhou Fanyue felt a chill coming out from the cracks in his bones. His fingertips dug into the corner of the table tightly, and his eyes almost turned red.
Lu Qinan's words were even more heartbreaking:
"He Sui Chen asked me to advise you to focus on your work and stop disturbing Yu Siqing's life."
-
At this moment in a New York hotel, the chicken soup stewed in the kitchen is finally freshly cooked.
Gu Qingwu had fallen asleep for a while, and only woke up when she was carried out of the bed. Her black hair was sticky with sweat and stuck to her cheeks. The man's long fingers gently brushed it away and he kept kissing her: "It's been stewed for two hours, please give me a drink, ok?"
“You stewed it?”
Gu Qingwu leaned her head softly against his chest, half-closed her thick eyelashes, and looked at the bowl of candied date chicken soup with a little criticism.
He Suichen sat on the bed and coaxed her to drink to replenish the energy consumed in the bathroom. He continued to kiss her with his thin lips, tasting the flavor with her.
Gu Qingwu cooperated and drank half a bowl, his eyes lit up: "You are gifted, the chicken soup you stewed tastes exactly the same as the one I drank on the set."
He Sui Chen rubbed her lower lip with his fingertips calmly, without any explanation, and asked who had personally cooked the chicken soup for half a week and asked the secretary to deliver it to the crew on time.
After feeding the woman in his arms, he lowered his head and placed his hand against her slightly cold forehead, his eyes focused and with a gentle smile: "Are you awake?"
"… Um"
"After we return home, shall we go get a marriage certificate?"
The author has something to say: Female goose: This is a disgrace to me. You want me to sell my body just for drinking a bowl of chicken soup. I was so scared that I woke up!
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