Chapter 797: The New Year’s Eve Agreement

This time, I stayed in Shenzhen with Yeluo for two days. We preliminarily reached a cooperation intention with Hengyang Department Store to set up high-end customized services within their malls. Also, through discussions with Hengyang’s senior management, we learned that they were in talks with America’s New Green Energy regarding an acquisition. It turned out that Hengyang’s controlling party had suffered unprecedented losses in the real estate sector, prompting their plan to sell off the department store chain. It was confirmed that the acquisition funds would be astronomical, and only powerful groups could dare to attempt it. Therefore, New Green Energy was currently the best option for Hengyang.

After returning to Suzhou, I immediately set up a related working group and quickly formulated an implementation plan for the project. Within only a month, we successfully launched the high-end customized service both online and offline, ahead of Wansen Group. The operation of this project made our website’s development more diversified, creating interaction between online and offline platforms, thus accelerating our user accumulation. Wansen Group launched the same project only a month after us, but by then, we had already seized the first-mover advantage. Moreover, due to their delay, Wansen was criticized by outsiders as lacking creativity, merely following our footsteps to explore the market. Everyone doubted Wansen’s chances of winning against us in the competition.

Regarding this, Fangyuan had never publicly explained anything… but Wansen’s decline had become increasingly evident. Recently, their advertising investment had drastically decreased, while we, on the contrary, increased our ad spending. In this back-and-forth, our website’s traffic and transaction volume had already doubled Wansen’s, firmly keeping them at a lower level than us. Additionally, Chuxinrui’s investment group had also changed its strategy, divesting several investment projects to focus on protecting Ouya Electric, which had been severely hit by Mi Cai in the European market. Essa Investment had already taken a semi-abandonment attitude toward Wansen Group. At this point, Wansen could only rely on its self-operated projects to barely sustain itself. If not for the banks fearing Wansen’s bankruptcy and the inability to recover massive loans, continuing to provide financial support, Wansen’s capital chain would have already faced a complete breakdown. However, this was also Fangyuan’s capability. In the past two years, he had continuously developed and acquired projects using Wansen’s favorable situation, engaging in capital operations to tie the banks to his commercial warship, becoming Wansen’s last lifeline. But if Wansen’s decline continued, the banks would eventually lose patience when seeing no hope, detaching from this bottomless pit of investment, and then Wansen would completely fall into an irreparable situation!

…

It was a night where lights and stars sparkled together. The fireworks lighting up the sky seemed to sing a blessing song, blessing this huge city. I seized this rare moment, driving through the streets and alleys, feeling the subtle changes in every block I encountered daily throughout this year!

Yes, it was already the end of the year again.

I wandered around for quite a while before finally buying two bottles of good wine from a street-side liquor store. I was going to have dinner at my parents’ place. Recently, due to frequent business trips, I hadn’t seen them for a whole week, even though we lived just a few streets apart.

Opening the door, my mom was cooking dinner in the kitchen, while my dad sat on the sofa, pouring coins onto the coffee table and then arranging them neatly into piles. I placed the wine I bought on the dining table and smiled as I asked him, “Dad, what are you doing with so many coins? I never noticed you had a hobby of collecting them before!”

“You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me, please.”

Dad gestured for me to sit down, then put the counted coins back into the piggy bank before saying, “These coins are for my future grandson to ride on the big electric horses. Isn’t there one right at the entrance of our community? Kids all like that stuff.”

I felt guilty inside, always feeling like I had let down my parents’ eager desire to become grandparents. But I also couldn’t fulfill their wish at this stage, so I chose to remain silent and added a few coins from my wallet into the piggy bank. In fact, I really wanted to take my future son and daughter to play with those toys that kids love, but even at nearly 30 years old, it still felt so distant.

Of course, I was also anxious about Mi Cai. I had heard that after 30, women are no longer in the best age for childbirth.

At this moment, my mom also brought the cooked dishes to the living room. Our family sat somewhat quietly around a large dining table. Like usual, my dad and I chatted casually while sipping our wine, while my mom looked somewhat preoccupied. After a while, she finally couldn’t contain herself and said to me, “Zhaoyang, I have a suggestion. Would you listen to your mom?”

“Of course I will… because there’s no mother who would harm her son!”

“When will you ever get rid of that flippant tongue of yours?” My mom scolded me with a smile on her face.

I really didn’t think I was being flippant, so I argued, “Mom, don’t you think this is an unchanging truth?”

Obviously, my mom had no interest in this kind of argument. Her expression turned serious and somewhat sad. After a long pause, she finally said, “Zhaoyang, I suggest you talk seriously with Xiaomi. The New Year is coming soon. Let her come back for this holiday! Your father and I haven’t seen her in two years. If it weren’t for you telling us every few days that everything is fine between you two, we really couldn’t believe she’s still our daughter-in-law…”

Of course, I knew how they had felt these past two years and how much emotional burden they had endured to avoid adding pressure on me. So I couldn’t cruelly refuse this request, but I also couldn’t promise them that I would definitely make it happen. Thus, I conservatively said, “I’ll talk to her first and see if she can find some time.”

My mom was already very happy with this non-committal reply, which made me feel even more guilty. I realized that if I couldn’t make this happen, I wouldn’t be able to have a good New Year myself. So I had to beg Mi Cai to come back, even if it was just to have a family reunion dinner together.

…

After having dinner with my parents, I returned to my old house. The first thing I did was turn on the computer and send an email to Mi Cai. My opening line was still the same timeless phrase: “Did you go to work today?”

I knew this reply might take a long time, but I was still stubbornly unwilling to do any other unnecessary things, just waiting eagerly. However, as time passed, I realized my luck might be bad today, possibly Mi Cai didn’t even go to work, making the chances of her logging into this work email practically non-existent.

It was already late at night when I finally turned off the computer and lay on the bed in a casual position, thinking about all the possible reasons why she hadn’t replied to my email yet. I admit it was silly, but I just liked doing it because I wanted her to come back and have a family reunion more than anyone else.

At nearly 11 o’clock, my phone finally rang with that familiar sound. I quickly picked it up from beside me and looked at it. It was really Mi Cai replying to my email. Her reply was also very concise, making our question-and-answer session quite symmetrical. She said, “Not working today.”

“Oh, but do you check your work email when you’re off?”

“Almost never, just wanted to know: if there’s an email from you asking if I’m working… Can you ask a different question next time?”

“Absolutely not. I need to figure out your work schedule to find the best time to send you emails!”

Mi Cai sent me a facepalming emoji, but it inadvertently brought us closer. Isn’t this how normal couples chat? Casual and easygoing, no need to be too formal. If an emoji can get the point across, why send an extra word? So I also sent her an angry emoji!

Upon receiving my emoji, she seemed a bit nervous and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“No more emojis from you.”

“Okay, I won’t send any more!” Mi Cai replied obediently, but still attached a string of various emojis after the text, ending with a smug one. I could therefore be sure that her mood recently was quite good, so she was playfully teasing me. This was also part of her personality—sometimes she really wasn’t a woman who put herself on a high pedestal.

I smiled helplessly. Although I was just staring at my phone, my expression unconsciously turned serious. Then skipping the previous light-heartedness, I sent her another message: “I need to talk to you about something serious… Do you have time to come back for the New Year? My parents really hope you can come back for the holiday… Even if it’s just to have a family reunion dinner!”

This time, Mi Cai didn’t reply quickly. I knew this was a difficult request for her, but after two years of waiting, I was already exhausted. Even though it was difficult for her, I selfishly hoped she could overcome these difficulties and come back to give this broken family a temporary sense of completeness.

It took a full twenty minutes before she finally replied: “Yes, I will definitely return before New Year’s Eve.”

“Really?”

“I always keep my promises!”

I immediately jumped off the bed and raised my arms in celebration. After two years, I finally heard from her that she would come back. Although it was only temporary, it was enough for my parents and me!

I spent a long time calming myself down before quickly asking her again: “Do you want to spend the New Year in Xuzhou or Suzhou?”

“Xuzhou. You and your parents go back to Xuzhou first. I should arrive on New Year’s Eve.”

“My parents can go back to prepare first. I’ll wait for you in Shanghai and then go to Xuzhou with you.”

“There’s no need. I want to meet you in Xuzhou. Just wait for me at our coffee shop.”

I immediately understood Mi Cai’s meaning. Actually, she also acknowledged that the time we spent in Xuzhou was the most beautiful period of our lives. Just thinking about how she would stand outside the coffee shop’s glass window on New Year’s Eve, smiling and greeting me like before, already made me feel a blissful dizziness in my heart. Perhaps on that day, I would forget the two years of waiting because of the countless scenes I had imagined before, treating everything as just a nap in the coffee shop, no longer caring about the long-standing anxiety and loneliness!

Probably, she would be even more beautiful than ever, standing in the sunset of that day, facing the wind that scattered everything… Thinking about this, I agreed to her proposal. Our meeting was set for New Year’s Eve, at that image-themed coffee shop, the one we had poured our hearts into.

Reluctantly ending the conversation with Mi Cai, I couldn’t wait to share this news with my parents, especially my mom. She was so overjoyed that she cried on the phone, but this wasn’t an overreaction because this was the only signal in two years that gave them hope that we would be together again.

Mi Cai was really coming back!

…

Because Mi Cai confirmed that she would return this year for a family reunion, my recent mental state had been surprisingly good. I traveled between various cities tirelessly.

On the evening of that day, I returned to Suzhou from Guangzhou but had already arranged in advance to meet Yan Yan to discuss the next phase of the online mall’s advertising plan.

It was already after work hours, but the lights were still on in Sima Advertising. Meetings were still being held in the design and planning departments’ meeting rooms. Yan Yan was also busy, personally overseeing the production quality in the production department. I heard that the current advertising production was a custom project for the Transportation Bureau. Although it was a small project, it was the first government contract Sima Advertising had received since its resurgence. This meant that Sima Advertising had fully opened its business channels and had once again entered the ranks of top advertising companies. I believed that the political influence left by Jian Wei’s parents for Sima Advertising had completely disappeared over the past two years. In the future, they would continue to receive more advertising business from government agencies. Sima Advertising had officially transitioned from the Jian Wei era to the Yan Yan era. Except for a few veteran employees, probably no one remembered the name of the founder, Jian Wei.

I sat in Yan Yan’s office and waited for a while before she returned from the production department. She immediately handed me the next phase of the advertising proposal. As I carefully browsed through it, I truly felt Sima Advertising’s progress. This advertising plan coincided perfectly with what I had in mind. The timing and channel selection for the ad placements both demonstrated top professional standards and rationality. I immediately signed a 20 million yuan advertising agency contract with Sima Advertising.

After signing the contract, I chatted a bit more with Yan Yan, mostly focusing on Xiaohua. In fact, since Xiaohua’s birth, I hadn’t seen her much. Yan Yan told me that Xiaohua could already sit up on her own for a while, which further stimulated my desire to go see her. I really liked her a lot, but unfortunately, my plan with Mi Cai to have a child still seemed far away. Otherwise, I would have loved to take the liberty of arranging a child marriage with Yan Yan, of course, provided that Mi Cai gave me a boy. But that would be years away!

As I was preparing to leave, Yan Yan suddenly called me back. Her expression was somewhat hesitant, clearly indicating that what she was about to say was something she herself hadn’t decided whether it was appropriate to bring up.