Chapter 34: Far Too Excessive

Lu Yan nodded calmly, shook hands with Wang Wei, and took a seat at the tea table. Sitting beside him was Chen Haixia, who had taken special care with her appearance today—a crisp white suit, her hair neatly styled, and a light touch of makeup. The moment she saw Lu, she was completely captivated; he was even more radiant than he had appeared on television just moments ago. Fortunately, after watching the broadcast, she had rushed home to change into this white dress.

Only after shaking hands with Su Yang did Wang Wei return to the tea table. Laid out on the table was the finest West Lake Dragon Well tea. Wang Wei poured a cup for Lu Yan and pushed it before him. “Mr. Lu, I heard from Miss Chen that you don’t like alcohol, so I thought we’d have tea instead.”

Businessmen in the special economic zone had learned these fashionable titles for women from foreign investors.

Lu Yan nodded. “Thank you.”

He then got straight to the point. “I’ve brought you another consultant specializing in communications technology, my colleague Su Yang. Though he isn’t well known yet, he’s highly capable and more than qualified to solve your current problems. I’m usually extremely busy and have no spare time at all, and my superiors wouldn’t approve it anyway.”

Chen Haixia had already discussed this with Wang Wei, so he didn’t seem disappointed. Instead, he smiled. “I understand, but please don’t refuse so quickly—hear my offer first. An annual salary of one hundred thousand, risk-free, and once the product hits the market, you’ll receive ten percent of the profits. What do you think?”

The offer was undeniably tempting. But Lu Yan was no stranger to such things. Once, a foreign company had offered his mentor a yearly salary of one hundred fifty thousand to poach him, and at the time, the private sector in China was just emerging and far less developed than it is now. To Lu, one hundred fifty thousand sounded incredible, especially considering his mentor’s then-current salary was only two hundred eighty yuan.

Yet his mentor had refused without a second thought, choosing instead to stay and pass on his life’s knowledge to his students. He rarely lectured them on lofty principles or made demands. The only request he ever made came before his death: “Marry Qingyi, treat her well. I trust only you.”

He had promised, but failed to fulfill that trust.

Meanwhile, Wang Wei continued his persuasive pitch, but Lu Yan had already tuned him out. He raised his hand to interrupt, “If your goal is simply to solve technical issues, Su Yang can travel for a few days each month. But I don’t have the time.”

With that, Wang Wei saw there was truly no hope and shifted the conversation back to Su Yang, but the terms changed entirely—now it was two thousand a month.

Even so, two thousand a month was a high salary for Su Yang. He couldn’t resign, of course, but by signing under the institute’s name and according to its policies, he would receive a quarter of that as commission—meaning five hundred yuan extra per month, nearly as much as his regular salary. He was elated and enthusiastically showcased his talents to Wang Wei. Lu Yan repeatedly checked his watch, though Su Yang didn’t notice.

When the hour hand finally pointed to eight, Lu Yan could wait no longer. “I’ll be heading home now!”

Just as he stood up, a young man appeared, microphone in hand, trailed by two others—one with a camera and the other carrying a bag.

“It really is Mr. Lu! I’m a reporter from H Daily. We saw your outstanding performance on TV today—truly impressive! I’m sure the public would love to see you in tomorrow’s paper. May we take your photo and interview you?” He presented his press card.

The entire newspaper staff knew how difficult it was to arrange an interview with Lu Yan—appointments had to be made fifteen days in advance, and he would only discuss professional matters. It was quite unexpected that a chance phone call would actually allow them to catch him here.

Lu Yan took the press card, recalling he’d been interviewed by them before—they were professional enough. He nodded. “You may take photos, but I can’t give an interview today. My colleague here can answer your questions just as well.”

Su Yang readily agreed.

For the photo, Su Yan stood in the middle, with Su Yang and Chen Haixia flanking him. As the picture was taken, a barely noticeable smile played at the corner of Chen Haixia’s lips.

When Lu Yan left, Chen Haixia didn’t try to stop him. She didn’t mind if the man destined to be hers spent a few more nights by that woman’s side. After all, the longer he stayed, the more painful it would be for her when he left. That was the price of her hopeless longing.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingyi saw An’an pacing anxiously at the door, peering out again and again, but never seeing a sign of Lu Yan. After returning to the sofa, An’an sighed repeatedly.

Shen Qingyi’s heart ached. She went over and took An’an’s hand. “Come sleep with Mama. Trust me—Papa will come back.”

An’an clung to her weakly. “Really?”

“Really,” Shen Qingyi replied, her heart trembling. It hadn’t been long, but her son was already so dependent on him. She had never seen An’an so lost before. Even when other children bullied him, he would be sad for a moment and then move on. But now, Shen Qingyi felt a pang of bitterness.

Assured by Shen Qingyi’s answer, An’an finally dropped his head and followed her to bed. He’d been so excited all day, his mood rising and falling. Shen Qingyi sat by his side and sang to him for a long while before he finally fell asleep.

She returned to her spot by the window and opened her sketchbook.

Half an hour later, the door finally opened. Shen Qingyi glanced at her watch—ten o’clock.

She got up to open the door and saw Lu Yan.

As she welcomed him in, she heard his voice. “Sorry, sorry, I had a dinner engagement tonight, so I’m late. Has An’an fallen asleep?”

A dinner engagement? Shen Qingyi was surprised. Her father had never attended such events before. With their status, they rarely participated in anything other than official media interviews.

“Was this engagement important—something you couldn’t get out of?”

“Not exactly important, and I could have refused, but it was difficult—I owed them a favor,” Lu Yan explained.

“Next time, let us know in advance. An’an waited for you, running to the door at least eight or ten times before I finally coaxed him to sleep.”

Lu Yan replied guiltily, “You’re right, I didn’t think it through this time. I’ll tell you in advance next time.”

Seeing his sincerity, Shen Qingyi said nothing more. “I left hot water on the stove for your bath.”

With that, she turned and went to her room.

After Lu Yan finished bathing, he noticed light still shining from Shen Qingyi’s room. He hesitated, wanting to know what she was doing—perhaps sketching? He found himself at her door, but in the end, resisted the urge and returned to his own room.

The next morning, the first thing An’an asked upon waking was, “Did Papa come home?”

“He did. He was delayed by an engagement, but he also apologized to you,” she answered.

An’an immediately beamed and was cheerful all morning.

It wasn’t until midday that Cheng Youqing burst in, waving a newspaper.

“Chen Haixia has gone too far! Look at what she said in the paper—can you believe it? She’s unbelievable!”