After a brief silence, Yan Yan did not immediately answer my question. Instead, she asked me, “Why are you suddenly asking about Fang Yuan’s work? And you even arranged to meet me in person! Has something happened to him?”
“Don’t get anxious… I just want to know about his recent work condition. After all, you are the one closest to him. He probably talks to you about work matters.”
Yan Yan shook her head and said, “He never talks to me about work, especially after I became pregnant.”
Thinking about it, I realized it was possible. After all, working in the corporate world brings a lot of pressure and negative emotions. Fang Yuan, who cares so much about Yan Yan, might really avoid discussing work with her so as not to worry her.
My silence, lost in thought, made Yan Yan even more nervous. She grabbed my hand and pressed, “Zhaoyang, has Fang Yuan done something wrong? You mustn’t cover for him! I’m so worried right now!!”
I patted her hand, trying to help her relax, and then spoke to her as gently as I could, “The reason I’m asking you these questions is because I’m worried he might have taken the wrong side. I just want to understand the truth related to his stance; it’s not about right or wrong… However, if he really has taken the wrong side… He will have wronged me, Zhaoyang, and betrayed our many years of brotherhood.”
Yan Yan looked at me with a mixture of understanding and confusion, but her emotions had calmed somewhat. She looked at me seriously and asked, “Explain yourself clearly. What side? What right or wrong?”
I exhaled and replied, “Let me put it simply then. If there’s going to be a struggle over interests at Zhuo Mei in the future, I hope Fang Yuan won’t stand against Mi Cai. I also hope he remembers that the sales miracle Zhuo Mei created during Christmas was achieved through everyone’s collaborative efforts. He shouldn’t use this as a reason to oppose Mi Cai.”
Yan Yan looked at me with a complex expression for a long time before asking, “Zhaoyang, are you questioning Fang Yuan?”
“Don’t take my words so extremely… If I really doubted Fang Yuan, I wouldn’t have tried every means possible to keep him at Zhuo Mei back then, nor would I have helped him organize the Christmas event.”
Yan Yan became somewhat angry, “Since you came to me, you must have at least some doubts about him… Zhaoyang, I want to remind you, you and Fang Yuan are practically sworn brothers, right? Back then, how did he take care of you at Baoli Department Store? You surely haven’t forgotten that either, have you?”
I looked at her in silence…
“Sorry… I don’t mean to scold you. I just think you should give Fang Yuan some trust. The brotherhood you’ve shared for so many years cannot be questioned unilaterally by anyone… Do you know? When you two were working at Baoli Department Store, the thing Fang Yuan talked to me about the most was how to help you, Zhaoyang, become more ambitious, and how to get you a decent position in the company. He was always fighting for you…”
“I know he has always taken care of me. Without the two of you all these years, I really can’t imagine how I would have survived in Suzhou.”
“It’s already a rare fate that we got to know each other. Over these years, we’ve supported each other while struggling in Suzhou, enduring all kinds of hardships, especially you and Fang Yuan… Your relationship has long surpassed ordinary brotherhood. I really don’t want to see you doubting him. I, Yan Yan, can promise you, my husband is a man of deep feelings and responsibility, who would never do anything to betray his brothers.”
Yan Yan’s words made me feel ashamed. For a moment, I dared not meet her gaze. I shifted my eyes to the outside of the cafe, once again recalling everything since I met Fang Yuan.
I will always remember: during our university days, he lent me his living expenses to start a band, while he himself ate steamed buns with pickled vegetables for months. Because of this, Yan Yan also didn’t receive any valuable gifts during their early relationship. Despite this, he never once asked me to repay him…
I also remember: after Jian Wei left me, how lost I was. It was still him who, despite the pressure of a full planning department, hired me at Baoli Department Store. Since I had no work experience or proper work attitude, he patiently passed on all his accumulated knowledge in the industry to me, and repeatedly took the blame for me in front of our superiors…
At that moment, I seemed to have forgotten my roots… I was filled with self-reproach. What had driven me to doubt such a devoted brother?
After a long while, I finally said to Yan Yan, “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have brought this up with you.”
“Thank goodness you told me and not him. I can’t imagine how Fang Yuan would feel if he found out about your doubts!”
Yan Yan’s words made me extremely hesitant. I even began to question whether it was necessary to meet Fang Yuan at all. Perhaps when I faced him later, I wouldn’t be able to speak openly, or perhaps I had already dispelled all my doubts about him… Because over the years, our brotherhood and his brother-like care for me were so real!
…
Yan Yan had already left, but I remained in my seat, watching the traffic outside the window, thinking about those mixed emotions… I found it hard to tell whether human nature was ever-changing or if there was still an unshakable belief beneath it all.
Had I perhaps viewed the world too complicatedly? Or was Fang Yuan still the same old Fang Yuan, while I, Zhaoyang, was the one who had changed and lost my way?
For a long time, I couldn’t find the answer.
Yet, thinking about everything Mi Cai was currently experiencing, I still needed to talk with Fang Yuan. But this conversation would no longer be filled with suspicion. I would speak to him as a brother, tell him and ask him, perhaps in the future, Mi Cai might need his help, and I hoped he would give Mi Cai the strongest support possible.
At that moment, the noon sunlight shone directly onto the wooden chair in front of me, making it hard for me to keep my eyes open. Squinting, I saw my recent self, becoming fragile and suspicious amidst all the exhausting troubles. How could things be as bad as I imagined?
I should know better than anyone else that the final battle at Zhuo Mei would inevitably become a war of capital, and with the support of Tianyang Group, Mi Cai should be assured of victory. Even the Red Robe Lady believed that no other investors would dare inject capital into the precarious Zhuo Mei besides her Tianyang Group.
In this flood of capital, what influence could Fang Yuan, a mere drop in the ocean, possibly have?… He was merely a hypothetical enemy conjured up by Chen Jingming! In reality, he should be Mi Cai’s most capable assistant.
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