Chapter Thirty-Six: Wanting to Leave Him

“It concerns working capital,” Mu Lichen said.

He then gave a brief report. Luo Yichen listened distractedly. He had always trusted Mu Lichen’s judgment, and usually accepted whatever suggestions he made. It was not because of any deep brotherly affection between them. The main reason was that Mu Lichen held the same number of shares in the Luo Corporation as he did. Luo Yichen believed that Mu Lichen would do everything in his power to benefit the company.

“Go ahead with it as you suggested,” Luo Yichen said.

Having received his approval, Mu Lichen rose and left. As he did, a photograph slipped from his clothes and fell to the floor. Luo Yichen did not notice. He opened the documents and began to examine them carefully. People often said that when love left one wounded, distraction was the best medicine. Luo Yichen wanted to set the matter aside for the time being.

He worked until nightfall before finally standing to stretch. That was when he noticed the photograph at his feet. His expression changed drastically, and every muscle in his body went rigid. He bent down and picked it up, staring fiercely at the man and woman in the picture.

Mu Lichen and Shang Qi were raising their glasses in a toast. The red heart-shaped candles on the dining table seemed to proclaim the nature of their “relationship.”

Luo Yichen suddenly felt like a complete fool. The two of them had made a fool of him so easily. He crushed the photograph into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket.

He was furious. He hurried to Shang Qi’s office and pushed at the door, intending to storm inside, but it was locked.

Luo Yichen had completely forgotten about maintaining his dignity. He began pounding on the door.

“Shang Qi, come out here!”

It was already quitting time, and few people remained in the company. Even so, the commotion drew the attention of the administration department. The administrative assistant, Qi Yanran, said, “President Luo, President Shang has already left for the day. There’s no one inside.”

Luo Yichen slammed his fist against the door in anger, frightening Qi Yanran into retreating several steps. When he saw the terror in her eyes, he realized how badly he had lost control.

“I understand,” he said.

Then he left for the parking lot with a dark expression.

As he drove, his mind gradually cleared. Shang Qi was not the kind of woman who was fickle in love. Most of the time, she was as innocent as a child. There might be some misunderstanding here. He should not rush over and make accusations. He would find out the truth first.

After arriving beneath Shang Qi’s apartment building, Luo Yichen called her.

“I’m downstairs at your place. There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

At that moment, Yu Xiufen was urging Shang Qi to come eat dinner.

“I’m at my mother’s place having dinner. Whatever it is, we can talk tomorrow!”

Shang Qi had guessed what he wanted to discuss and did not want to argue with him so late at night.

“If you don’t come down, I’m coming up,” Luo Yichen threatened.

Shang Qi had no choice but to agree. She hurriedly put on her coat and headed for the door.

Shang Wende asked, “Dinner’s ready. Where are you going?”

“There’s an emergency at the company. I have to go over there.”

With that, she hurried downstairs.

Luo Yichen’s car was parked at the entrance. As soon as Shang Qi got in, he drove away.

“What did you want to see me about?” Shang Qi asked, sensing the tension inside the car.

Luo Yichen pulled over by the roadside and took the crumpled photograph from his pocket. When she saw it, Shang Qi was startled.

How had this photograph ended up in his hands?

“How do you explain this?” Luo Yichen asked calmly.

His composure frightened her even more. It was the stillness before a storm, and she had no idea what he intended to do to her.

Shang Qi stared at the photograph without saying a word. Her attitude was practically an admission.

At that moment, Luo Yichen’s heart ached terribly. He noticed that there was not the slightest trace of guilt in Shang Qi’s eyes, only sorrow. That look made him realize that the truth might not be what he had imagined.

“What exactly is your relationship with Mu Lichen?” he asked painfully.

Shang Qi met his gaze directly.

“Mu Lichen and I happened to meet at a matchmaking dinner, so we had dinner together afterward.”

“That’s all?”

“No. He’s been pursuing me lately.”

A murderous glint flashed in Luo Yichen’s eyes, and his hair seemed to stand on end. Unable to suppress his anger, he seized Shang Qi by the shoulders and shook her.

“How could you go on a date with another man?”

“Because I wanted to forget you!”

“So you never intended to introduce me to your family?”

Shang Qi fell silent.

Luo Yichen felt like a fool. He had even been thinking about how to make a good impression on her parents. He released her and turned to leave.

Suddenly, tears streamed down Shang Qi’s face.

“You’re a man I can never have. Forget me!”

At the sight of her tears, Luo Yichen hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not stop. He needed to think calmly about whether this woman was worth making such sacrifices for.

After returning home, Shang Qi shut herself in her room and cried through the night. Every time she thought about separating from Luo Yichen, her tears refused to stop.

The next day, Shang Qi truly did not want to go to work, so she sent Luo Yichen a text message asking for leave. She curled up in her room and could not even be bothered to get out of bed. Her parents were deeply worried. Only later did they discover that she had developed a high fever.

Shang Qi took three consecutive days off and did not go to work.

This left Luo Yichen frantic with worry. That night, he had been too angry to concern himself with her. Once he had calmed down, however, he sensed that something was wrong with the whole affair. He did not immediately confront Mu Lichen. Instead, he observed him in secret over the next few days and discovered that Mu Lichen did not seem nearly as concerned about Shang Qi as he was.

The relationship between the two of them remained impossible for him to understand.

During those days apart, Luo Yichen carefully considered Shang Qi’s thoughts and gradually understood why she had been so hesitant. Their three-year relationship as lovers had actually been a source of pain for her. It had caused her to lose faith in him and made her increasingly afraid to give herself to him completely.

Luo Yichen called Shang Qi several times, but she refused to answer.

When Shang Qi finally returned to work, she had lost a great deal of weight. After several days away, work had piled up like a mountain. The moment she sat down at her desk, the telephone began ringing incessantly. She answered one call after another.

Suddenly, the office display showed a secondary number belonging to Luo Yichen.

Shang Qi hesitated, but eventually picked up. It was working hours, and no matter how unwilling she was, she had to answer the president’s call.

“Hello, President Luo.”

Luo Yichen heard the coldness in her voice, and his heart sank.

“Why haven’t you come to work for several days? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Yes. I’ll submit my leave certificate to Human Resources later.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Luo Yichen asked with concern.

“A cold and a fever.”

“Did you get sick because of me?”

“I’m sorry, President Luo. Since this is working hours, it isn’t convenient for me to discuss personal matters with you.”

Hearing her attitude, Luo Yichen began to lose his temper as well. He said nothing more and hung up.

Tears once again slipped down Shang Qi’s face. She sobbed uncontrollably, her entire body trembling slightly.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Shang Qi hurriedly wiped away her tears.

“Come in.”

Qi Yanran entered carrying a stack of documents.

“President Shang, these need your signature.”

Shang Qi indicated that she should put them on the desk first. After Qi Yanran left, Shang Qi forced herself not to think about anything. The most important thing was to concentrate on her work.

She buried herself in endless documents and emails. At lunchtime, she did not go out to eat, but continued working with her head bowed.

And so she and Luo Yichen remained locked in a cold war for half a month.

Mu Lichen noticed that something was wrong between them.

That day, an important client came to visit the company. Luo Yichen was to receive him personally, accompanied by Mu Lichen and Shang Qi. Working alongside Luo Yichen made Shang Qi extremely uncomfortable, and she was somewhat distracted.

By accident, she scattered across the floor the documents she had been about to hand to Luo Yichen. He was in the middle of speaking at length about the company’s operations. The documents in Shang Qi’s hands contained the proposal he was about to explain in detail.

Mu Lichen immediately rose to help her gather the papers. His hand brushed against hers from time to time, and an ambiguous smile played across his face.

Shang Qi’s face instantly flushed red.

Luo Yichen caught sight of the scene from the corner of his eye. Rage surged within him, but he could only pretend not to notice. Mu Lichen knew that Luo Yichen would not dare make a scene in front of the client, which was why he behaved so boldly.

Watching the two of them flirt in front of him, Luo Yichen finally could not bear it any longer.

“Pick up the documents later. Concentrate on the meeting first,” he said.

Shang Qi froze. Without those documents, how was Luo Yichen supposed to explain the proposal? She was about to explain when she met his implacable gaze. In the end, they both returned to their seats.

Luo Yichen continued presenting the proposal.

To everyone’s surprise, he recited the entire document from memory.

The major client was extremely satisfied with the proposal, and the Luo Corporation successfully secured another major contract.

After the meeting, Mu Lichen drove the client away.

Luo Yichen turned on Shang Qi. “Did you really have to flirt with Mu Lichen right in front of me?”

Shang Qi did not want to answer him. She hurried into the elevator. Luo Yichen was only one step behind, but the doors closed in his face.

He was so furious that he nearly smashed the elevator doors.

Instead, Luo Yichen turned and raced up the stairs, catching up with Shang Qi at her office.

No one in the company had ever seen him so enraged. In front of his employees, he had always been a man who kept his emotions carefully concealed. Everyone could not help feeling a silent pang of concern for Shang Qi.

The moment Luo Yichen entered, he shouted, “What exactly are you and Mu Lichen trying to do?”

“He’s pursuing me, and I think he’s a decent man.”

“So you’ve been avoiding me because of him?”

Shang Qi replied helplessly, “What future could you and I possibly have? Anyone with eyes can see that we’re not the same kind of people.”

“You won’t even give us a chance?”

Luo Yichen’s face turned livid.

“Everyone around me is against us being together. Do you really think we would suit each other?”

Luo Yichen angrily raised his hand as if to strike her, but forced himself to stop.

“I’ve been trying to find an opportunity to make a good impression on your parents. I’ve already told my family that there’s a woman I love. How could you do this behind my back?”

Seeing the pain in his eyes, Shang Qi began to cry.

These past few days, she had struggled constantly with her longing for him. She had even been afraid to come to the company, terrified that seeing him would make her waver again.

Luo Yichen saw through everything. He pulled her forcefully into his arms.

“You don’t love Mu Lichen at all, do you? Stop deceiving yourself.”