The Ex-Wife-to-Be Is Acting Weird After Losing Her Memory - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Song Without Words Eight

What is the experience of an equipment upgrade?

For Lu Jiayin, it felt like opening the door to a new world.

The morning after their conversation, Qi Yongshan, wrapped in a full-blown black trench coat and sunglasses, walked into Lu Jiayin’s studio. Although she arrived exactly on time, she was still complaining: “It’s so hard to find parking here… why don’t you move to a more spacious place?”

Since she had managed to coax the person into her territory, Lu Jiayin naturally didn’t care about her dramatic entrance. After Qi Yongshan finished complaining, she reluctantly scanned the room with a critical eye.

Lu Jiayin asked with a smile: “What would you like to drink?”

Qi Yongshan had already hung her coat on the rack. Hearing the question, she blinked: “…Coffee brewed by you personally?”

Her intention was to tease, exploiting the favor, but unexpectedly, Lu Jiayin immediately accepted. She nodded: “Okay, wait here.”

The studio always had a variety of beverages on hand. Seeing their boss personally preparing to make coffee, the assistants looked surprised, exchanged silent glances, and then bent their heads back to work.

Qi Yongshan thought she was receiving some kind of ultra-high-level treatment and sat down triumphantly across from the bar counter. However, her smile quickly froze.

“Is that how you grind coffee beans? That’s enough, it’s already overflowing… Forget it, how about I do it?”

After witnessing Lu Jiayin’s series of excruciating operating procedures, and then considering her own workload for the next few hours, Qi Yongshan sighed and resignedly took the grinder.

Ten minutes later.

“I didn’t realize you knew how to brew coffee.” Lu Jiayin took a fragrant sip from her cup. “Mmm… it’s delicious.”

Qi Yongshan rolled her eyes at her frankly.

She had agreed to provide her marketing team to assist with data maintenance. Some communications were difficult to handle through others, so she had to come in person to help. As the two looked over the public opinion reports, Qi Yongshan judged professionally: “Someone is definitely deliberately orchestrating this to smear her. Isn’t your wife an entrepreneur? How could she have rivals?”

Confirming her judgment, Lu Jiayin said: “A tall tree catches the wind. We previously traced an account that liked a piece of negative news, and it turned out to be the official microblog of a competitor company… They probably switched accounts by mistake because they lacked experience… I imagine there are many more doing the same.”

“CEO Zhen has it tough,” Qi Yongshan commented. “My people have responded. They can handle Weibo and the smaller platforms. Rotating through a few rounds of scrubbing should clear up most of it, but they haven’t dealt with this ‘Leka Auto’ community.”

Because the Tianfeng Technology incident falls under the technology sector, besides discussions in public communities, the “Leka Auto” forum had the highest engagement. Qi Yongshan pushed the screen toward Lu Jiayin: “This is a purely automotive technology forum. Registration requires answering questions. Do you have a way to solve that?”

Lu Jiayin glanced at the dense screen full of exam questions, thought for a moment: “I’ll find someone to help.”

She called Assistant Xiao Chen directly. Although Xiao Chen was surprised by her request, he efficiently sent a few people to the studio.

These were several Tianfeng technical staff members carrying laptop bags and faces full of questions. The ever-smiling Assistant Ding Ding welcomed them and led them into a prepared meeting room.

A remote conferencing system was set up in the meeting room. The assistant tapped the microphone and said seriously: “The Q&A session starts now. Our experts will post the questions and correct answers in the group chat. Everyone, please pay attention and cross-reference to find the corresponding answers…”

In the office on the other end, Lu Jiayin was not idle either. After using all her registered secondary accounts to post, she once again looked at Qi Yongshan on the sofa…

“No way? This account is yours too?” She flipped through the list on Qi Yongshan’s computer, pointing at a familiar account in surprise. “I remember this account often liked my candid photos, didn’t it?”

Qi Yongshan blushed and turned the screen toward herself: “I was just pretending to be an anti-fan, don’t you get it? Don’t ask so many questions. Didn’t you want to borrow accounts to boost comments?”

Lu Jiayin quickly typed, logging the account onto her phone: “Entering the password now…”

The two chatted casually, and the atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious. After working for a while, Qi Yongshan, seeing Lu Jiayin still typing away rapidly on the screen, couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Why do I find you so strange? There are plenty of posts criticizing you usually, but you never pay attention…”

Forget using her official account to respond, she seemed rarely to participate in any fan wars or faction-joining. Yet now, she was so relentlessly boosting and replying to posts for Zhen Zhen, even getting personally involved. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Qi Yongshan would never have believed that the person diligently typing away and fighting the trolls was Lu Jiayin.

Hearing her words, Lu Jiayin paused slightly, and after a long time, she said: “…I can’t stand others insulting her.”

Even though she knew the people were professional trolls or mindlessly attacking for money, she absolutely couldn’t accept seeing someone slander her Zhen Zhen.

She quickly finished typing a line and naturally reached out to Qi Yongshan: “Lend me a few more accounts.”

With the help of professionals, the online public opinion began to gradually shift. Especially when news of an “astronomical” compensation figure—far exceeding any actual amount—was leaked, netizens also started to get restless.

“Source with connections! It’s said the victim’s family is demanding 100 million in compensation, and Tianfeng is negotiating…”

“100 million might be too exaggerated, right? Haven’t they even clarified the cause of the accident yet?”

“Honestly, foreign media are currently aggressively dissing Tianfeng. A national pride enterprise finally emerged. Should it really be ruined by trumped-up charges?”

Zhen Ming turned off the screen with a somber expression.

He was in a quiet, secluded villa in the mountains. This was a property from Wen Meixian’s dowry. Because the location was very remote, and the original developer’s capital chain broke, leaving many unfinished buildings that affected the feng shui, this villa area had become an embarrassing white elephant. After the few existing residents gradually moved out, it was nearly abandoned.

This made it convenient for Zhen Ming to secretly borrow it for other uses.

His actions this time were more dangerous and severe than his previous instances of misappropriating public funds and deceiving his superiors. However, for him, when enormous profits were within reach, the place for “conscience” disappeared again.

Zhen Ming’s face was grim, his brows tightly locked. The two men sitting opposite him were visibly more agitated, asking hesitantly: “CEO Ming, is this getting difficult? You clearly said it would be easy when we went for the money last time, but…”

Hearing this, Zhen Ming sneered: “Be patient. You demanded 30 million. No fool would agree immediately. Besides, I’m mediating this. What are you afraid of?”

The short man’s brow twitched. He stammered: “But this matter… Changan’s life is involved. I always feel uneasy. Is doing this really okay?”

Zhen Ming lowered his voice again: “Do you have any other choice? You two are the ones who lost the race in the US and caused me losses. Now I am willing to give you a chance. When the 30 million is in hand, both of you will benefit. How many times in your life will you encounter such a highly profitable opportunity?”

This statement finally silenced the men. Although they had been tormented by their conscience and caught between a rock and a hard place these past few days, money was undoubtedly the biggest motivation supporting them to continue this endeavor.

The short man thought with some regret that perhaps this was fate. The two brothers traveled the country racing underground, and by chance, they arrived in Haishi on New Year’s Eve, where they coincidentally ran into their former teammate, Cheng Changan. The connection that had been severed for so long was thus re-established.

What happened next felt like a dream. They went to the US to participate in an underground race, encountered an unexpectedly strong opponent, and in desperation, they thought of Cheng Changan, who was also in LA, and strongly invited their former teammate to help them “earn some quick cash.”

Cheng Changan had not intended to participate in such races, but the high prize money and their solemn assurances took effect. Perhaps it was the temptation of money, or trust in his former teammates, but he finally decided to “take a gamble.”

It was because of this race that Cheng Changan fell completely into the abyss. After losing the race, he couldn’t pay the bet money. Zhen Ming seized the opportunity and proposed that he help with a “small favor.”

“It’s not difficult for you to tamper with things at the LA demonstration race,” a thick stack of US dollars was placed on the table, dimly glowing under the light. “Tianfeng has already won the championship anyway. This small loss will only make Zhen Zhen lose some face, and you can still go home with the money…”

However, none of them had anticipated that Cheng Changan would lose the race as agreed, but the price paid would be so tragically severe.

“We really can’t keep going. We are the ones putting ourselves out there. Sister-in-law keeps urging us about when we can finally handle Brother Cheng’s remains. Old Cheng’s bloodsucking relatives are also difficult to deal with…” The tall man gritted his teeth. “Our pockets have been completely emptied these past few days…”

“Enough, don’t pretend in front of me.” Zhen Ming stood up as he spoke. He thought for a moment and still pulled out his wallet. “Tomorrow, I will propose the compensation plan again at the executive meeting. Be ready to come for negotiations.”

As he spoke, a sudden gust of wind roared through the window. The wind blew the swaying branches against the window frame, making a rattling sound.

The sky was growing dark. Zhen Ming wiped his hands with a handkerchief and said with distaste: “I’m leaving now. Remember to keep an eye on that woman and don’t let her run around.”

As he spoke, he straightened the wrinkled lapel of his suit, adjusted his expression to look somber, and opened the study door. The corridor was silent, casting a long, dark shadow.

Zhen Ming frowned. He walked quickly down the corridor, intent on leaving this empty, house with its unpleasant atmosphere as soon as possible. He did not notice a pale-faced woman standing in the shadows at the end of the corridor.

Su Qing’s heart was pounding fast. Although the fragmented conversation she had unintentionally overheard was vague, her intuition told her that this matter was not as simple as it seemed.

Since Cheng Changan’s accident, she had been brought to this temporary residence by Zhen Ming in a panic and was met by Cheng Changan’s two friends, whom she had met before. She had settled down temporarily under their persuasion.

Although this was a large villa, the surroundings were unusually desolate. Even the meals were delivered by a chauffeur-driven servant every day. Apart from that, not a soul was seen.

Cheng Changan’s friends comforted her, saying that because the incident had caused an uproar online, reporters were staking out the area every day, and they chose this location to ensure the peace of the mother and daughter. Despite being full of doubts, the bewildered Su Qing chose to believe them at the time.

She stayed cooped up in the room with her daughter. Apart from crying every day, waiting for further news, she had nothing else to do. After a few more days, Cheng Changan’s parents, younger brother, and sister-in-law’s large family, who had received the news, also arrived here one after another.

At this moment, the room was smoky and filled with the sound of mahjong tiles. Su Qing steadied herself and walked quickly into the small hall. Sure enough, a card table had been set up again, and her father-in-law and brother-in-law’s family were shuffling tiles and puffing smoke.

Little Jin was huddled in the corner of the living room, reading by the light of a wall lamp. Seeing her mother return, she opened her mouth but didn’t speak, just stretched out her arms toward her.

Su Qing quickly walked over and first hugged her daughter. Her mother-in-law, who was watching TV on the sofa, curled her lip: “She’s a big girl now, raised to be so delicate.”

She was not satisfied with this daughter-in-law. She had a frail, unlucky appearance. Now, not only had she caused the death of her eldest son, but she also failed to bear a male heir to continue the family line, keeping only an undesirable little girl. If only they hadn’t agreed to the marriage in the first place and had chosen a more devoted daughter-in-law for her eldest son in the countryside.

Now, whatever she said was too late. Her eldest son died in a foreign land. Fortunately, those men who claimed to be Changan’s friends promised wholeheartedly to fight the big company and seek compensation for them. Once they got the money, they could renovate the old house back in the village, and they could hold their heads high among the neighbors.

As for Su Qing and Xiao Jin, a widow and an orphan, if they were willing to follow them back to the village, she would grudgingly provide them with a place to live. If they weren’t willing, she wouldn’t force them. After all, she had more than just this one son and grandson.

At this moment, the mother-in-law took a sip of tea and found Su Qing increasingly irritating: “Why hasn’t dinner been sent up yet? Aren’t you going to hurry them up?”

A whole family of able-bodied people sat there, yet not one dared to interact with outsiders, only daring to assert their dominance over the mother and daughter. Su Qing obediently replied “Okay” and walked outside with her daughter.

Outside the house, a fierce wind howled. Clearly, a heavy rainstorm was coming. Little Jin hugged her mother’s neck tightly and asked with a hint of confusion: “Mama, it’s going to rain. Why are we going out?”

Su Qing touched her daughter’s face: “Xiao Jin, shall Mama take you to find Papa?”

Although the wind outside sounded frightening, Little Jin only burrowed closer into her mother’s embrace and whispered: “Okay, I miss Papa. Let’s go find Papa.”

Her eyes grew hot again. Accompanied by the whistling wind, Su Qing picked up her daughter and walked down the mountain without looking back.

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