"It's too complicated to explain, and I don't want to talk about it at home." Seeing her concerned expression, Tianyi felt a lot of his troubles dissipate.
"Alright, then you rest well in your room. Are you hungry? I'll bring you some food." As she spoke, she turned to leave.
Tianyi suddenly reached out and hugged her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his face pressed against her, silent.
Susu froze, looking down at him. For some reason, she felt a pang of sympathy for him and asked, "What's wrong? Did something else happen to upset you?"
"No, I just wanted a hug."
"Mmm." Susu stood still, letting him hold her like a child.
After a while, Tianyi seemed to have regained his spirits. He let go of her, stood up, took her hand, and with a smile on his face, said, "I'm not sick, why would you bring food to my room? Let's go downstairs and have dinner together."
Susu looked at him and followed him out of the bedroom, but she always felt that he was hiding something from her, unwilling to say it.
She couldn't guess what it was for the moment, only hoping he could be happier at home, and didn't press him further.
...
Zhao Jianhua and his wife had been living in fear these past few days. Although the shoddy work on the cultural wall had been smoothed over on the surface, it hadn't caused Xie Zhendong too much loss.
However, Zhao Jianhua received news from Zhan Jiayi that Xie Zhendong wanted to find other contractors to replace them in building the cultural wall.
The couple had already invested a lot in this project. If they didn't complete it, appease Xie Zhendong's anger, and secure the benefits that would follow, they would lose a great deal.
They had finally managed to find out that Xie Zhendong was meeting with several business magnates at a golf course today. They bribed a staff member and changed into caddy uniforms, which allowed them to meet Xie Zhendong.
Zhao Jianhua collected a bag of balls around the golf course, tired and out of breath.
At his current status, he rarely did manual labor. Zhang Yuyun had been following him, taking out paper napkins to wipe his sweat.
"Serves you right, this is all your doing," she scolded him, but then she remembered when they were struggling financially, he would pull a cart while she pushed from behind, occasionally handing him water and wiping his sweat.
Although life was poor then, looking back now, it was the happiest time.
Now they had everything and lacked nothing, yet the sense of happiness from the past could no longer be found.
Zhao Jianhua took a break and said, "It's my own fault. Why did you come with me?"
"If I didn't come, could you handle Xie Zhendong? What if you say something wrong again and everything is ruined?" Zhang Yuyun picked up a ball for him and threw it into the bag.
Only when the bag was full did the couple walk towards Xie Zhendong.
Xie Zhendong was chatting and laughing with the magnates beside him. Zhao Jianhua respectfully handed him a ball, "Mr. Xie, is this ball suitable?"
Xie Zhendong heard the voice and looked at the caddy, immediately recognizing Zhao Jianhua. He said irritably, "It's you. How dare you come looking for me."
Zhao Jianhua, with a fawning smile, carried the bag of balls and pleaded, "I know I was wrong. I was deceived by my subordinates. Now, I've replaced all the paint with the best waterproof pigment, and the wall is built exceptionally sturdy. If you don't believe me, you can come and inspect it yourself sometime."
Before Xie Zhendong could reply, a magnate beside him asked with a smile, "Mr. Xie, who is this gentleman? He looks familiar."
"Oh, this is Mr. Zhao, who undertook the flood control cultural wall project," Xie Zhendong introduced him indifferently.
The others couldn't help but laugh. Someone said, "So you're Mr. Zhao? Why are you a caddy? Since you're here, why not change your clothes and play a few rounds with us."
Zhao Jianhua was utterly humiliated, yet he still had to curry favor with Xie Zhendong, saying, "No need, no need. I'm willing to be a caddy for Mr. Xie."
Seeing his shamelessness, Xie Zhendong didn't want to make things difficult for him further. He didn't drive him away, nor did he pay him any more attention. He said to the others, "Come, come, let's continue."
They truly treated Zhao Jianhua as a caddy and made him work, taking balls from his bag.
Zhang Yuyun also suppressed her anger and continued to pick up balls on the field, giving Zhao Jianhua an opportunity to speak.
During one swing, Xie Zhendong deliberately did not warn Zhao Jianhua to move aside and swung his club forcefully, hitting Zhao Jianhua's arm.
The pain made Zhao Jianhua drop the bag of balls he was holding, but he dared not cry out in pain and pretended nothing was wrong as he picked up the bag again.
Xie Zhendong seized the opportunity to approach him and said in a voice only they could hear, "Don't play tricks behind my back anymore. Don't find Zhan Jiayi again. What is given to me is mine. Otherwise, I will reduce your entire family to nothing, and you people in Lancheng will only be fit to be beggars."
Zhao Jianhua was so scared that he quickly said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
"Dismiss her brother from your group. I will make other arrangements," Xie Zhendong's voice was very low, but his tone was an absolute command.
"I understand," Zhao Jianhua maintained his posture of bending over to pick up the ball bag, not daring to move rashly.
Only then did Xie Zhendong smile and say, "The other caddy not far away is your wife, isn't it? You don't need to show your diligence here anymore. Wait for me in the lounge if you have anything to say."
"Alright," Zhao Jianhua felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He put down the ball bag in his hand and immediately ran to find Zhang Yuyun.
Xie Zhendong had finally given them a chance to explain.
They sat in the lounge and waited. Zhang Yuyun asked casually, "Is your arm alright after being hit by Mr. Xie's club just now?"
"You saw it?" Zhao Jianhua smiled. "As long as he's willing to listen to our explanation and won't deal with us, it's fine even if he hits me ten times."
Zhang Yuyun had thought she had completely given up on him and wouldn't care about his life or death.
But seeing him humbly beg for mercy, and then get hit, she remembered the hardships they endured when they first started their business.
Back then, such begging and groveling were commonplace, and they had long grown accustomed and numb to it.
Later, when they became successful and gained social status, they seemed to have forgotten those past events.
Over the years, not only had he changed, but she had also changed. She only wanted to seize power within the group and no longer paid attention to him.
Although she had many feelings after being suppressed by Xie Zhendong, she still said to him indifferently, "Don't disregard minor injuries. We are no longer young. Remember to apply medicine when we get back."
"Yuyun, I know you still care about me," Zhao Jianhua wanted to grab her hand.
She dodged it, however, and just smiled lightly, "Just pretend I didn't say anything. If you're really injured, there will be plenty of people to help you apply medicine."
She understood very clearly that Zhao Jianhua wanted a virtuous wife who still loved him, and at the same time, he wanted to embrace women outside and enjoy the pleasures he had never experienced before. She could not agree to this.
Not arguing with him loudly did not mean she could tolerate his philandering, but she intended to firmly hold onto the financial power and rights that belonged to herself and their two sons.