Qiu Yang used to only think about cutting ties with these people and never imagined the situation would develop like this. But now that it had come to this, she actually felt… a little good.
The hurts she had suffered before becoming independent resurfaced. Looking at her past self, bleeding and crying, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Hearing this, Qiu Zheng sniffled, “Yangyang, I never did anything to you. Don’t slander…”
“Uncle.” Qiu Yang interrupted him. “Do you know? Your indulgence makes your crime even worse. You never stopped Auntie, you never stood by me, you never protected me. You just watched coldly as I was scolded and beaten. In your eyes, did none of that matter? That’s simply ridiculous.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her aunt snatched the phone from Qiu Zheng again and yelled at her, “Qiu Yang! You ungrateful wretch! We shouldn’t have saved you back then, you should have drowned!”
“Zhao Rong! What are you saying!” Qiu Zheng’s angry voice rang out.
“This ingrate has eaten and lived off us for so many years and now she’s back to get revenge on you, and you ask me what I’m saying?” Her aunt’s words were sharp, as if Qiu Yang were the one who had done something wrong.
Qiu Yang had no intention of hanging up immediately. Her heart was still very calm, and she asked faintly, “Oh, right, Uncle, I wanted to ask, how much money did my… my mom transfer to you each time before? Or rather, for how many years did she transfer money in total, and how much does it add up to?”
“Not much, it all went towards your tuition,” Qiu Zheng replied.
Qiu Yang laughed when she heard this. “Towards my tuition? During the nine years of compulsory education, we only had to pay for textbooks each semester. My high school tuition was waived by the school, and you even withheld the living expenses the school gave me. As for university tuition, I earned it myself through part-time jobs. Now you’re telling me it went towards my tuition? Do you think I’ll believe that?”
“Alright, I forgot about it before. I’ll go ask my mom now, and see if there’s anything else she wants to do.”
From her conversation with Qiu Zheng, it was clear he didn’t know about her falling out with Qiu Yan, which was why Qiu Yang deliberately added that last part.
She suddenly felt like she was borrowing someone else’s power.
“Oh, right, Uncle, if you tell me the truth, I’ll go talk to my mom about your situation.” Qiu Yang’s lips curved up after saying this.
Qiu Zheng seemed hesitant, struggling for a few seconds before saying, “For the first five or six years, she transferred ten thousand every six months…”
“…” Qiu Yang’s mind started calculating as soon as she heard the number. “And then?”
“When you started primary school, she transferred twenty thousand every six months, until you graduated from university, then it stopped.”
Qiu Yang: “…”
Oh my god.
She graduated from university at 21. Calculating it this way, Qiu Yan had transferred at least 740,000 yuan to them. Compared to what she had returned to Qiu Yan before, there was a difference of a full 500,000 yuan.
“You swallowed all of this?” Qiu Yang recalled carefully. “Initially, Uncle, you worked in a factory with a low salary, supporting Auntie and Qiu Wenyun. Later, you started a restaurant…”
“The money to open the restaurant came from here, didn’t it?”
“Yangyang, Uncle didn’t mean to, we had to support the family, that’s why…”
Qiu Yang didn’t want to hear him say anything more and immediately hung up the phone.
Now that she knew the truth, her mind was in a mess again.
She had thought the money she returned to Qiu Yan was enough, but it turned out there was such a huge difference, which left Qiu Yang somewhat stunned.
She had been diligently working and saving money all these years, but she couldn’t come up with 700,000 yuan.
Qiu Yan had only been sending her money all these years, and Qiu Yang didn’t want to owe her mother.
The morning passed like this. Qiu Yang didn’t take a single photo. When it was almost time, she went to the underground parking lot of Qiyao Company.
Shen Ningruo was waiting for her by the elevator.
As soon as she saw Qiu Yang, Shen Ningruo noticed her poor complexion and immediately became alert, asking with concern, “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Qiu Yang shook her head, feeling a bit tired.
Shen Ningruo didn’t rush to take Qiu Yang to the cafeteria. Instead, she led Qiu Yang aside and hugged her.
It was already early summer, but the temperature in the parking lot hadn’t changed, it was a bit cool. Both of them were wearing shirts and just stood there hugging. Other people passed by and saw them, but didn’t give them any extra glances.
Qiu Yang inhaled Shen Ningruo’s familiar lemon scent, slowly closed her eyes, and her heart finally settled down.
Like a boat finding a small island to dock at.
Qiyao Company’s cafeteria had a rich variety of dishes. Shen Ningruo usually ate here and had her usual spot. Normally, no one would sit in that area; they would watch the company’s Director, whose reputation for both beauty and authority was well-known, from a distance.
Recently, the employees at Qiyao had learned that Shen Ningruo had a girlfriend and began observing her secretly.
Occasionally, when they saw Shen Ningruo replying to messages, they would wonder if she was replying to her girlfriend.
Occasionally, when they saw Shen Ningruo’s lips curve up slightly, they would wonder if it was because of her girlfriend.
In short, Shen Ningruo was currently at the center of gossip, with pairs of eyes fixed on her.
The reason was simple: she was Shen Ningruo.
However, today they didn’t see Shen Ningruo appear in the cafeteria, and everyone thought she wouldn’t come. But unexpectedly, ten minutes later, Shen Ningruo not only came but also brought an unfamiliar woman with her.
Ke Yezi spotted Qiu Yang at a glance. She waved and greeted, “Qiu…”
“Miss Qiu.”
Qiu Yang had already resigned, so calling her Department Head was inappropriate now. Ke Yezi always paid attention to these things and would never make the mistake of using the wrong title.
“Manager Ke,” Qiu Yang nodded at her.
Eyes from all directions were on her. Qiu Yang knew why, but she didn’t feel anything extra.
These were all strangers.
Since Shen Ningruo had been forced to come out at the company because of Qin Yu’s previous words, she didn’t care about this and naturally led her to the serving window.
Ke Yezi’s colleague opposite her hadn’t gone to the sports meet because she wasn’t part of the project team. Now seeing Qiu Yang here, she immediately became curious. “Manager Ke, could that woman Director Shen brought be her girlfriend?”
She deliberately lowered her voice when gossiping about this.
Ke Yezi raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
“They look very compatible.”
Ke Yezi laughed. “Put ‘compatible’ on the public screen for me!”
The colleague looked at Shen Ningruo’s gentle expression and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “Director Shen has changed so much. I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“What do you call this?”
“This is the power of love. You single dogs wouldn’t understand.”
“Tch.”
“As if you’re not single.”
Shen Ningruo and Qiu Yang didn’t hear the others’ discussion. They each took their trays and sat down at a table.
Qiu Yang gave a thumbs-up. “If you want to capture your employees’ hearts, you have to capture their stomachs. I’m starting to want to work at Qiyao.”
Shen Ningruo unscrewed the drink she bought for her and placed it in front of her. “Then come. Our company doesn’t prohibit office romance.”
“…” Qiu Yang imagined what her life would be like if she really came to Qiyao and shook her head. “Forget it, we need space.”
Shen Ningruo chuckled softly. “I knew someone was just talking big.”
“Weren’t you just talking big too?”
“…Yes.” Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow. “I was just playing along with you.”
Qiu Yang laughed. “Hurry up and eat, you still have to work. I’m unemployed.”
If there weren’t so many people around while eating with Shen Ningruo, Qiu Yang would have used this time to tell her what happened. But since they were attracting a lot of attention, she had to postpone her plan.
But not for long, because after lunch, Shen Ningruo took her to her office, calling it a “tour.”
Shen Ningruo’s office was simply decorated, mainly in plain colors, which was Shen Ningruo’s style.
Qin Yu knew Qiu Yang was coming and didn’t stay in his own office either.
“President Qin,” Qiu Yang greeted him with some surprise when she saw him appear at the door.
Qin Yu arrived while Shen Ningruo was getting Qiu Yang a glass of water. She chuckled, “What kind of wind blew President Qin to my little office?”
Qin Yu smiled. “If you don’t know what kind of wind it is, check the weather forecast.” He then looked at Qiu Yang. “Miss Qiu, long time no see.”
Qiu Yang nodded.
“I heard you resigned from Wanming. I came specifically to congratulate you,” Qin Yu sat down on the sofa, facing Qiu Yang.
Qiu Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you, President Qin.”
Shen Ningruo pulled back the curtains a bit. Listening to Qin Yu and Qiu Yang chat, she found it somewhat amusing. “President Qin, you’re so busy, can you please not disturb us young people dating?”
Qin Yu: “…”
Qin Yu snorted lightly. “I came to see my sister-in-law, can you control me?”
Qiu Yang smiled at his words. She had to admit.
She quite liked that title.
The next second after Qin Yu said that, his expression became a little heavy. “Oh, right, Ruoruo, how is Uncle Shen doing lately?”
Shen Ningruo sat down beside Qiu Yang. Her face stiffened at the question, then she gently shook her head. “He’s refusing treatment.”
“What kind of illness is it? I didn’t understand when my dad told me, and Uncle Shen is still hiding it from him.”
“Cancer.”
Qin Yu was stunned, his lips trembling slightly. “What? Cancer?”
“Yes. I’m going home tomorrow. It’s not a solution for him to just take medicine at home like this. I’ll take him to the hospital to see.”
“Let me know if you need anything.”
Qiu Yang pursed her lips and didn’t speak, quietly placing her hand on Shen Ningruo’s hand to comfort her.
Qin Yu covered his eyes. “Tsk.”
“I’m about to be blinded.”
“I should leave. This place has no room for a single dog like me.”
Shen Ningruo didn’t stop him. “Goodbye, President Qin.”
Qiu Yang added, “Goodbye, President Qin.”
Qin Yu: “…”
He came very suddenly and left very quickly.
The moment the door closed, Qiu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Qin Yu and Wen Yuan had a good relationship, which made her a little uncomfortable.
Shen Ningruo pinched her face. “Tell me.”
Qiu Yang turned her head. “Director Shen, I’m in debt now. I’m no longer a little rich woman.”
