Chapter 19: The Only Constant

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With those words, she turned and walked away.

Go back?

Disappoint you? As if I would ever go back.

Yet who could have known that Madam Liu would call me that evening.

“Xiao Chen, have you had enough time to clear your head?”

“If you have, then come back. Everything at the branch office has been arranged.”

“Your mother cannot rest easy without you taking charge.”

“Especially with one major project involving so many people. I cannot count on Ayin for this. You are the only one I can rely on.”

I frowned. Had she discussed this with Liu Zhuyin?

Was one of them trying to force me back while the other played on my feelings?

“Even if I go back, I do not want to continue working at the Liu Group.”

“I hope you can understand.”

Madam Liu immediately began to scold me.

“You ungrateful brat! Say that again!”

“Listen to me. I will not interfere in matters between you and Ayin.”

“But you cannot abandon me!”

“I… I have always treated you as my own son.”

“After all these years, tell me yourself… Yes, I had ulterior motives when I asked you to marry Ayin. But ask yourself honestly—how have I treated you?”

Her words left me silent.

There were many ways to judge whether someone truly treated you well.

I was a practical man, and I had my own standards.

In my eyes, the fact that Madam Liu was willing to give me shares and money was enough to prove that she regarded me as her son.

How many mothers-in-law would be willing to reach into their own pockets for a man who had divorced their daughter and wanted to leave the marriage with nothing?

Besides, throughout our five years of marriage, she had always stood on my side.

She had treated me like a son. With her, I had genuinely experienced a mother’s love.

“What is it, you brat? You… You are not really going to abandon me too, are you?”

“If you really do that, I will be heartbroken.”

As she spoke, her voice grew choked with tears.

Damn it…

That was exactly what I feared most.

“All right.”

“I will think about it…”

Madam Liu immediately brightened.

“Good, good, good!”

“Rest assured, I will not interfere in the matter between the two of you!”

“Absolutely not.”

She made another promise, but I knew she was lying to me.

She had always done her utmost to bring Liu Zhuyin and me together.

I could not bear to expose her lie. Out of consideration for the affection she had shown me, I simply pretended not to understand.

With so little life left to me, and having left Liu Zhuyin, I truly had no idea what I should do next.

Whether I drifted through my days aimlessly or did something for Madam Liu before I died, it made little difference.

I could think of it as preserving this bond of family.

Just after I hung up, Luo Mingzhu knocked on the door and came in.

“Brother Chen, you have to help me!”

The moment she entered, she put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression and looked at me imploringly.

“Tell me.”

Pouting, she launched into a long explanation.

“My parents are insisting that I go back because of something at the company…”

“They want me to accomplish something—a project.”

“If I do well, they will stop forcing me to go on blind dates!”

“Brother Chen, you are the vice president of the Liu Group. You are so capable. You will definitely help me, won’t you?”

“You would not want to see me marry one of those rich second-generation heirs and get bullied by them, would you?”

I froze for a moment, then remembered what Madam Liu had just said.

There was a major project.

Could it have something to do with the Luo family as well?

“Oh, say something!”

“Can you do it or not?”

“You are killing me with suspense!”

She grabbed my hand and shook it.

“When are you going back?”

“Tomorrow!”

That timing…

It gave me a headache.

Liu Zhuyin had said she would wait for me at the airport tomorrow. If I went back now, would she not misunderstand?

“Tomorrow… will not be convenient.”

“It has to be tomorrow!”

“The project meeting is the day after. I need you there to take charge.”

My head began to throb. How could everything have lined up so perfectly?

“Oh, right! Money!”

“I will not shortchange you. I will pay you twice the market rate to help me.”

“For the sake of the time we have spent together these past few days, and for the sake of my sincerity…”

“Please, just help me.”

“If you refuse, I will… I will cry right here!”

She was clearly afraid I might say no.

She really was willing to use every trick in the book.

“All right… Fine.”

Though going back was not what I had envisioned, Madam Liu wanted me to return, and Luo Mingzhu needed my help.

So I decided to go.

…

Early the next morning, Luo Mingzhu and I arrived at the airport with our luggage.

I deliberately covered myself up as much as possible.

Although I was not returning for Liu Zhuyin at all, I did not want her to know that.

I did not want her thinking I could not live without her.

Unfortunately, fate was not on my side. I was discovered.

“Very good.”

“Looks like you have not forgotten the five years we spent together.”

“Do not worry. Once we are back, I will learn to be a good wife.”

When Liu Zhuyin saw me, she unexpectedly smiled at me.

But there was something about her tone…

I could not shake the feeling that she was acting as though she had won.

“You… Do not misunderstand. I am going back for Mingzhu.”

My explanation sounded weak even to me.

“Exactly!”

“Brother Chen is going back for me. It has nothing to do with you!”

“Could you stop flattering yourself?”

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Liu Zhuyin merely glanced at Luo Mingzhu.

“Yes. I believe everything you say.”

“All right, get ready to board.”

“When we get home tonight, I will cook for you. My cooking is not very good, but bear with me for now. I will improve little by little.”

After saying that, Liu Zhuyin exchanged her ticket and boarded the plane, her long legs carrying her away amid a trail of fragrance.

I was so frustrated that I did not know what to say. Luo Mingzhu looked thoroughly embarrassed.

“Um… It is all my fault, my fault, my fault…”

“But time waits for no one. I am sorry to put you through this, Brother Chen…”

She apologized in a coquettish voice.

What could I say?

After boarding the plane, we arrived more than ten hours later.

Liu Zhuyin had arranged for a car and driver.

“Come on. Let us go home together.”

It was the first time she had said those words in five years.

Unfortunately, I was going to refuse.

But at that moment, her phone rang.

“What did you say?”

“I… I understand.”

After hanging up in panic, Liu Zhuyin looked at me apologetically.

“I… I am sorry. Something has happened to Yuanzhou.”

She said nothing more, as though waiting for me to tell her to go.

“It is all right. You should go.”

I had never stopped her before, let alone now.

“I know I should go home with you.”

“But I really… I truly cannot refuse to help him.”

“I know you can understand me, right?”

It was the first time she had explained herself to me so clearly.

It was also the first time she had sounded so sincere.

Her attitude toward me had genuinely changed somewhat.

In the past, she would never have bothered to explain so much.

But one thing had not changed: she was still just as anxious about Ning Yuanzhou.

“I understand.”

I smiled and nodded. She visibly relaxed.

“You must wait for me at home. I have something to tell you tonight.”

“And… I have already bought all the ingredients we will need.”

“Wait for me!”

Leaving those words behind, Liu Zhuyin hurried into the car.

Her departure saved me a great deal of trouble.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. She certainly sounded sincere.”

“But she still abandoned you for another man, did she not?”

“Hypocrite!”

Luo Mingzhu snorted and affectionately linked her arm through mine.

“Do not bother with her.”

“Today, I am taking you out for a lavish meal so we can prepare for tomorrow’s business conference.”

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