Chu Tingyun’s gaze paused for a moment on the line of small gray text, and then he suddenly let out a light laugh.
Above the chat box, “The other party is typing…” kept flashing, but there was still no reply.
President Chu was not in a hurry. He waited casually, even somewhat leisurely. Just then, another phone rang.
Chu Tingyun answered: “Hello?”
“President Chu, we just received some news.”
Assistant Fang’s voice came through the receiver.
“Quite a bit of the anonymous report against Hongyuan Group from a month ago has already been confirmed. Now the Chongyan Island Resort project has been completely halted, their funds have been frozen by the bank, and a pile of bad debts has been uncovered. The Chen family’s situation… is not looking good.”
“What does the old man say about it?”
“The Chen family rushed to City A last night to beg Mr. X for help, but they didn’t even get through the door. However, Madam might not bear to see her family in trouble and will likely help them secretly.”
The “Madam” that Assistant Fang mentioned was Chu Tingyun’s stepmother.
“Got it,” Chu said with a smile.
“Then sever ties with Hongyuan as soon as possible, and cooperate fully with the investigators from the bank and government departments.”
Assistant Fang hesitated: “But President Chu, we have a lot of closely integrated projects with Hongyuan. If we cut ties completely, our losses…”
Chu Tingyun interrupted directly: “Regardless of the losses, I’ll handle the rest.”
“Understood.”
After a pause, Assistant Fang still asked:
“President Chu, should we look into the anonymous whistleblower? The evidence provided was too detailed and accurate, with a lot of it being classified. I think it must be an insider and someone at a high level.”
Chu Tingyun remained silent for a moment, and when he replied, his tone carried a hint of warning.
“Don’t do unnecessary things.”
“……”
Assistant Fang understood his meaning and wisely did not continue on this topic.
“The matter you instructed yesterday has been taken care of. However, the producer over there wanted to ask if you need us to give more ‘special care’ to Mr. Yan’s friend.”
“No need.”
Chu Tingyun looked at the night rain swiftly passing by the car window, speaking nonchalantly.
“Let that little chubby guy stay in the mountains for a few months.”
Assistant Fang understood: “Understood.”
“Also, Miss Jingshu’s wedding is set for the 10th of next month. The gentleman asked that you must attend.”
“I got it.”
As soon as the call ended, Chu Tingyun received a reply from Yan Xun on his personal phone:
[Sorry, I didn’t mean that; it was a misclick.]
—An expected answer.
Chu Tingyun casually tossed his work phone aside and replied to the only contact on his personal WeChat:
[It’s fine, it was just something set up for fun in the past; I forgot to change it.]
For fun?
After checking earlier, Yan Xun realized that the “tap back” message content could only be set by the person being tapped. In other words, this message was set by Chu Tingyun himself.
Maybe such a thing had indeed happened before, which is why he set such a light, intimate message with a bit of playful affection between young partners.
But the most powerful beautification tool in the world is probably the human imagination, so everything the brain infers will be covered with a filter.
Yan Xun was well aware of this fact.
His fingers hovered over the phone keyboard for a moment, but he ultimately decided to skip over this topic.
[I received everything, thanks. Also, I forgot to return the clothes. I’ll wash them and bring them over?]
Xueshan (Snow Mountain): [No need, just bring them back for me.]
Bring them back?
Back where?
Yan Xun was stunned for a moment and then belatedly realized that the other party probably meant bringing them back home.
—Their home, his and Chu Tingyun’s home.
“……”
After a brief silence, Yan Xun replied with an “Okay.”
Xueshan: [The business trip schedule has been moved up. I have to fly to City A tonight.]
Tonight? So urgent?
Yan Xun checked the weather forecast for City A and then replied:
[It’s also raining heavily in City A, stay safe.]
[Okay.]
The short conversation ended there.
Yan Xun exited WeChat and began checking his financial status.
Regardless of whether they end up divorcing or if his memory comes back, it’s important to know how much money he has now.
By browsing the internet, Yan Xun quickly learned how to check his bank balance online. Twenty minutes later, he got the answer—
WeChat Wallet: 2,461.32
Alipay: 1,032.54
Three bank cards, totaling 20,210.76.
Twenty thousand might seem like a lot for a high school student. But in this first-tier city, it’s laughably little for a 25-year-old like Yan Xun.
Not to mention, he might also face high medical expenses. He could even end up being held at the hospital for not having enough money to pay upon discharge.
Yan Xun: “……..”
He immediately got up to find Nurse Zhao.
“—You want to check the medical expenses now?”
Nurse Zhao was a bit puzzled, but she smiled and replied,
“Don’t worry. When you were transferred here, your husband prepaid 500,000. There should be quite a bit left over when you’re discharged.”
“……”
Five hundred thousand.
There’s indeed no need to worry about medical expenses.
“……Thank you, sorry to bother you.”
After saying goodbye to the nurse, Yan Xun returned to his room. In any case, being detained by the hospital for not having money to pay for medical bills is not going to happen. He took out his phone intending to ask Chu Tingyun about the medical expenses, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
The other party was probably on the plane right now.
Yan Xun started planning for an early discharge. Dr. Wang had said that his bone fracture did not require hospitalization and that he could recover at home. As for the intracranial hematoma, it wasn’t a major issue and would disappear on its own over time. So, he should be able to complete the discharge procedures and leave in a few days.
However, unexpectedly, during the routine rounds the next morning, Dr. Wang suddenly changed his mind for some reason. He said that the location of Yan Xun’s intracranial hematoma was a bit dangerous and that he needed to stay in the hospital for further observation.
“As doctors, we have to be responsible for our patients. Besides, staying in the hospital might help you recover faster, and maybe your memory will return quicker too, Mr. Yan.”
“…Alright.”
For the sake of potentially regaining his memory faster, Yan Xun finally agreed to stay in the hospital, actively cooperating with the treatment every day and following the doctor’s guidance for some recovery training.
During this period, he contacted his friends in his phonebook one by one, through which he found his former counselor.
According to them, Yan Xun was described as quiet and introverted, diligent in his studies, and a recipient of scholarships every year, but he often took on part-time jobs outside and rarely interacted with his classmates.
The only special things were that he once dated the campus beauty Jiang Jingshu and that he won a major award in a college AI innovation competition. However, after graduation, no one had heard from Yan Xun again.
Most of this, Zhou Ze had already mentioned.
Yan Xun didn’t get much useful information. It seemed like, in the end, he still had to start with Chu Tingyun.
But the other party clearly did not want to tell him anything; Yan Xun could sense that.
Fortunately, a month passed easily, and Yan Xun’s injuries healed quickly. The cast was removed, and he smoothly completed the discharge procedures.
The medical expenses were indeed, as Nurse Zhao said; more than half of the prepaid 500,000 was refunded.
The staff handling the refund asked Yan Xun:
“Do you need the refund to be transferred to another account?”
“Refund it to the original account,” he replied.
—That was his answer.
This time, when Yan Xun left the hospital on crutches, he remembered to buy a set of casual clothes online in advance, avoiding the situation of scaring passersby in a hospital gown.
He also bought a backpack online because the items near the hospital were too expensive. There wasn’t much in the backpack—an ID card, a charging cable, and a divorce agreement.
Besides that, there was only Chu Tingyun’s trench coat.
After being discharged, naturally it was time to go home.
The divorce agreement mentioned that he and Chu Tingyun had three properties in total after marriage, with the respective addresses clearly stated.
However, after checking his bank transaction history and delivery addresses, Yan Xun discovered that before his memory loss, he did not live in any of those three properties. Instead, he rented a two-bedroom apartment in an old residential area on the outskirts of the city.
After some consideration, Yan Xun decided to visit his rental apartment first.
The location was a bit far, and the navigation showed it would take an hour and a half by subway, with two transfers needed.
On the subway, Yan Xun sent Zhou Ze a message about his discharge. Zhou Ze still didn’t reply. Who knows what that guy was busy with; he only mentioned being busy with work once in the past month and then never contacted him again.
In contrast, Chu Tingyun, who was also very busy with work, would occasionally send him one or two messages.
That person told Yan Xun that Baobao had been sent to stay at a friend’s house and was quite temperamental. It not only broke out of its cage three times but also made the friend’s dog cry.
He then asked Yan Xun if he needed anything when he returned.
“I don’t need anything,” Yan Xun replied at the time.
But after thinking about it, Yan Xun sent another message:
[If it’s convenient, bring me a postcard.]
Chu Tingyun laughed and said: [Sure.]
Perhaps because it was inconvenient while on a business trip, most of the messages Chu Tingyun sent to Yan Xun were voice messages. His tone was familiar and natural, with a bit of unconscious intimacy.
If not for the fact that the divorce agreement still existed, Yan Xun might have forgotten that their marriage had long been broken.
—However, those were messages from three days ago.
At this moment on the subway, Yan Xun’s gaze lingered on the other party’s contact name for a few seconds, and he began to type.
[I’ve been discharged.]
He waited for a few minutes, but there was no reply.
So Yan Xun sent a second message:
[Thank you for covering my medical expenses. After today’s settlement, 356,531.57 was refunded. Please check.]
He took pictures of the receipt and invoice and sent them to Chu Tingyun.
Yan Xun originally wanted to say, “Don’t worry, if we end up divorcing, I will pay you back for the medical expenses.”
But then he received a new message.
Xueshan: [No need to thank me; it was charged to your card.]
Yan Xun’s hand, which was typing, instantly froze: “……”
He was silent for a full minute after that sentence.
My card?
But Yan Xun remembered checking his online banking accounts and found no bank card with 500,000 in it.
Frowning slightly, Yan Xun asked, “So where is my card now…?”
Xueshan: “With me.”
Yan Xun continued typing: “Then, when you return from your business trip, could you return the card to me…”
Before he could finish typing the word “me,” another message came from the other side—
Xueshan: “I used to manage all our money.”
“……”
Yan Xun’s hand froze again.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally hit delete and typed again:
[Thank you for your hard work.]
[Mm.]
Xueshan responded with a single, reserved word.
Then, Yan Xun received a transfer from the other party.
52,000, with a note saying “pocket money.”
“……”
Yan Xun looked at the transfer labeled “pocket money,” stayed silent for a few seconds, and asked:
[Was this how it always was in our home?]
[Mm.]
President Chu still kept his words to a minimum.
Yan Xun didn’t hurry to accept the transfer and asked again: [So, am I supposed to turn in my salary every month too?]
[What else?]
Chu Tingyun said matter-of-factly: [If we’re not divorced, isn’t it your job to support me?]
Yan Xun: “…….”
He couldn’t refute it!
