Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 66
by Little PandaThe Decision
Tell her not to hate me.
“I agree to make a deal with you.” After a moment of silence in the rest room, it took a long while before Shiyi stood up from the ground, her face cold, no longer looking at the document in her hand. She tilted her head towards Luo Zhouping and said: “I agree.”
Luo Zhouping’s face lit up with unexpected joy, showing obvious pleasure as he said: “I knew President Wei was a clever person.”
“Can’t even call her President Wei anymore, Miss Shiyi is a clever person.”
Shiyi lowered her eyes and said: “However, before I came, Wei Hui instructed that this plot of land must be secured for at least 1.3 billion, so…”
So on the surface, she needed to secure 1.3 billion, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to Wei Hui. This old fox understood immediately: “I’ll offer 1.3 billion, is that sincere enough?”
Shiyi’s face remained cold as she tightly gripped the document with one hand, her expression grief-stricken. Seeing her like this, Luo Zhouping laughed inwardly, knowing this truth was merely an accident, but unexpectedly, this accident had brought him such great profit. How wonderful indeed.
He continued: “Shiyi, there’s no future at Wei Tian. Why not come to my company instead?”
Luo Zhouping hadn’t forgotten about this piece of meat, still desperately wanting to devour it. His gaze grew increasingly unrestrained, his smile increasingly greasy. Shiyi seemed unaware, her mind and eyes completely focused on the document’s contents. After hearing Luo Zhouping’s words, she shook her head lightly: “I don’t want to join any company for now.”
“I understand, I understand.” Luo Zhouping wore a knowing expression: “Let’s go, we can return now.”
After speaking, he tossed away his cigarette butt and strode forward. Shiyi suddenly called out: “President Luo, I hope no one else knows about our deal just now.”
“That’s for certain.” Luo Zhouping smiled: “This is our secret.”
Shiyi followed beside him when her phone suddenly rang. It was Wei Hui calling. Under Luo Zhouping’s inquiring gaze, Shiyi gently declined the call without answering. She lifted her head: “Let’s go.”
The auction continued. As the highest bidder, Shiyi drew everyone’s attention when she emerged from the rest room, including Pei Tian. He had wanted to follow her in but was stopped by Shiyi, so he didn’t know what she and Luo Zhouping had discussed. He only knew that after returning, Shiyi seemed very unusual – her spirit was off, her expression was off. He called out: “President Wei?”
Shiyi came back to her senses: “Hmm?”
Pei Tian said: “It’s time to bid.”
Only with his reminder did Shiyi look up. The price board still showed her bid: 1 billion.
“One billion, first call!” The auctioneer’s hammer struck, hitting heavily on everyone’s hearts. As he was about to strike for the second time, Luo Zhouping raised his paddle: “1.3 billion.”
A crushing bid, leaving no room for negotiation. The crowd who had been curious about Shiyi’s bidding now turned to look at Luo Zhouping. His face showed absolute confidence, smiling with smug satisfaction, growing even happier as his secretary beside him kissed up [ζι¦¬ε± | pΔi mΗ pΓ¬ | to flatter excessively].
There was no movement from Shiyi’s side. Pei Tian grew somewhat anxious, frowning as he asked: “President Wei, are we going to raise the bid?”
Before coming, Wei Hui had instructed that this was the maximum price. Adding another 10 or 20 million wouldn’t be a problem now, but Shiyi’s mental state seemed very off. After studying Luo Zhouping, the crowd turned to look at Shiyi, wondering if Wei Tian, who had been bidding unusually high from the start, could still afford this price.
This no longer seemed like an auction, but rather like watching two families in a game of chess – whose deer would die, still remained unknown.
Under everyone’s gaze, Shiyi lowered her eyes to look at the document in her hand, then glanced at the paddle on the other side. After a few seconds, she turned over her paddle.
[[Not bidding anymore?]]
[[Obviously, it’s 1.3 billion! You think it’s 13 yuan? It’s not that easy to bid!]]
[[Wei Tian actually withdrew.]]
[[Isn’t Wei Tian the leader in Jiangcheng?]]
[[Maybe it’s internal strife, just enjoy the show.]]
Murmuring voices spread as everyone watched with a spectator’s attitude. Pei Tian’s face showed rare anxiety: “President Wei?”
Even Du Yuehan looked over in shock – Shiyi had actually given up?
Unbelievable.
What exactly had they discussed in the rest room? What made her abandon the auction immediately after returning?
Under their questioning and bewildered gazes, Shiyi stood up and said to Pei Tian: “Let’s leave first.”
Pei Tian stared at her blankly. Was this it? Were they just letting go of the Bianjiang plot like this? They weren’t going to fight for it?
What was going on!
Thoroughly confused, he called Wei Hui to report the situation. Wei Hui, wearing an oxygen mask, asked: “She gave up?”
Pei Tian had strong reservations about Shiyi’s actions and immediately said: “Yes, President Wei and President Luo talked for a while, and when she came out, she seemed completely off and abandoned the auction.”
Wei Hui thought about how Shiyi had hung up on her call half an hour ago. She coughed several times, fighting back the urge to vomit as she said: “I understand. Hanging up.”
After ending the call, she hugged the trash bin and vomited again. She had only drunk some thin porridge in the morning, and now it all came back up. Su Ziyan dared not be careless, staying by her side constantly. Seeing her hang up the phone, he immediately asked: “What’s happening?”
“What happened to Shiyi?”
Wei Hui sighed: “She must have learned about what happened back then.”
“You said she wouldn’t hate me.”
Wei Hui’s eyes reddened slightly: “Ziyan, you’re wrong.”
Su Ziyan stood frozen: “But this doesn’t have much to do with you. Besides, it wasn’t your father’s fault back then. This was their agreement. How could anyone blame you…”
“She blames me for not telling her earlier.” Wei Hui sighed deeply: “She doesn’t hate me, nor does she blame me. She just resents that I didn’t tell her beforehand, letting an outsider reveal the truth to her.”
Su Ziyan still didn’t understand: “She’s throwing a tantrum over this? Does she know what she’s giving up? Over a billion in profits! And your health! Does she know…”
“Don’t let her know about my surgery for now, and don’t say anything else. We can’t sort this out over the phone.” Wei Hui breathed lightly, her chest hurting terribly, but she still insisted through gritted teeth: “She said she’d be back tonight. I’ll wait for her.”
Su Ziyan looked at her helplessly. Whatever Wei Hui decided, he never had room to counter. He wasn’t Shiyi, who could make her change her mind.
Yet the person who could change her mind was now hurting her.
Did Shiyi know?
Su Ziyan left the hospital room. Wei Hui looked at the leaves outside the window, emerald green and dense, casting shadows. She raised her hand to block the scattered sunlight, holding her hand before her eyes. The veins were clearly visible, along with black and blue marks, much like the marks Shiyi had left on her that night. Wei Hui thought of Shiyi and lowered her eyelids, tilting her head to see the stuffed dog by her pillow, a gift from Shiyi that had accompanied her for several years, now faded. As she gazed at it, weariness overcame her, and she fell into deep sleep.
The evening breeze blew into the room. Wei Hui dreamed that Shiyi called her, saying she wouldn’t be back tonight, telling her not to wait. Her voice in the phone was resolute and cold, so distant that she suddenly woke up!
Wei Hui half sat up. The IV drip on her hand had stopped, though the needle remained. She looked at the time – exactly five o’clock. Shiyi still hadn’t returned. After thinking for a moment, she dialed the number. After several rings, a clear voice came from the other end: “Hello.”
Wei Hui opened her mouth: “Shiyi, did the auction go smoothly?”
Shiyi looked at the view outside the floor-to-ceiling window, lowering her head as she heard Wei Hui’s question: “Not very smoothly. I lost the land.”
Wei Hui said nothing for a while, then: “Did Luo Zhouping tell you everything?”
Shiyi gripped the folder tightly, gritting her teeth: “Yes, he told me everything. I made a deal with him. I’m sorry.”
That apology struck Wei Hui’s heart, making her dizzy. Wei Hui’s fingers tightly gripped the pillowcase, her other hand clutching the phone: “It’s alright. Are you coming back tonight?”
“Not coming back.” These three words were heavy and dull, causing Wei Hui a moment of difficulty breathing. Her brows tightly furrowed as she bit down on her teeth, her clenched hand loosening then tightening again. In a deep voice, she said: “Alright, I understand. Then get yourself sorted and come back tomorrow. I’ll wait for you at home.”
There was a long silence on the other end before Shiyi suddenly asked: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Wei Hui opened her mouth, but finally only said: “We’ll talk when you return.”
Shiyi swallowed her tears and the bitterness in her throat, nodding: “Alright, we’ll talk when I return tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Wei Hui picked up the agreement paper by her bed and looked at it several times. Seeing the signature, she remained silent for a few seconds, then pressed the call button. Su Ziyan entered shortly after.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Wei Hui’s face was pale, the veins on the back of her hand protruding finely. She handed the agreement to Su Ziyan, saying: “This is the agreement her father signed back then. If I’m not here, give it to her when she returns.”
“Huihui, you’re…”
Wei Hui bit her teeth: “Listen to me.”
“I never told her about this agreement because I didn’t want her to know what kind of person her father was, and I didn’t want her to know she was abandoned since childhood.”
Su Ziyan took the agreement with trembling hands, his eyes moist. Wei Hui continued: “This is my will. Attorney Cheng has a copy too. Please help me give it to her.”
As she spoke, she handed over another document folder. Su Ziyan’s vision blurred, his nose stinging with emotion. This grown man stood in the hospital room with furrowed brows, moistened eyes, and an expression between crying and not crying. Wei Hui, however, acted as if she hadn’t noticed, and pulled out a letter from under her pillow: “This final letter, please help me give it to her too.”
“You’re actually…”
“Dr. Bai called me back this afternoon, saying he’ll take me tonight. Ziyan, I won’t be able to wait for her return.”
Su Ziyan’s face turned deathly pale, almost unable to hold the documents: “You didn’t tell me any of this!”
“You would have told her.” Wei Hui looked at Su Ziyan, using such a gentle tone with him for the first time. Her usual forceful presence was gone, replaced by softness as she said: “Shiyi is barely in her twenties. She’s never thrown a tantrum since childhood, never dared to. Let her have this one.”
From beginning to end, her tone remained peaceful and gentle. When mentioning Shiyi, Wei Hui’s eyes filled with doting affection. Su Ziyan couldn’t accept this. As he turned to leave, Wei Hui commanded: “Stop!”
Though her presence was soft, her gaze turned sharp. Su Ziyan wasn’t afraid of her severity but worried about affecting her condition. He shook his head: “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t want her to see me off on my final journey. She couldn’t bear it.”
There was a knock on the hospital room door, and a head peeked in – it was Dr. Bai’s assistant, whom they had met before. Seeing Su Ziyan, he lowered his head: “Dr. Su, President Wei, are you ready?”
Wei Hui nodded: “I’m ready.”
Su Ziyan clutched the two documents and one letter in his hands as he heard Wei Hui say while adjusting her hospital gown: “Ziyan.”
“Tell her not to hate me.”
Sacrificing my sleep and procrastinating on my works to read the chapters I marinated for a while just to feel the betrayal Wei Hui encountered π
Noooo Shiyi, We Hui trusted you that biddingπππ I hope she didn’t treat it as a child’s play and pulled herself together to obtain substantial gain over that loss π€§