The Hope You Gave Me: 72-Ivy Garden

After being discharged from the hospital, Min Hui moved into Block A of Qingteng Garden, which is Xin Qi's apartment in Bencheng. Before that, he had been on business trips three times in a row—two to Beijing and one to Shanghai—no matter what time the flight was, he would always come back at dusk, stay in the ward with her, and sleep quietly until he fell asleep. Leaving, as if performing some kind of ritual.

Min Hui felt that there was no need for him to do this. There was a nurse for everything, and Zhou Ruji often came here. She was well taken care of. Deep down, of course, she longed to see Xin Qi every day, but she also understood that this was not realistic. The early death of her parents made her accustomed to being independent, especially in the past few years as a single mother, no matter how difficult it is, she has to take care of herself, and she does not have high expectations for the help of others.

Every time he came to the ward, Xin Qi had unfinished work. There was no desk in the ward. Sometimes he would leave a voice message in a low voice, in English for a while in French, American English to the Americans, Oxford accent to the British, and the languages ​​switched seamlessly—she couldn't hear but was fascinated, and listened. fell asleep.

“Why do you come here every day?” she sometimes asks.

"Can't you?"

"Do you like me?"

He shook his head: "No."

"Why come here every day?"

"Can't you?"

"You must like me, right?"

"You think too much, Min Hui."

Just like this, the endless loop.

Sometimes she asks about the progress of the acquisition: "What the **** are you doing lately? Watching the tide has been suspended for so long."

A strange expression appeared on his face immediately: "I can't explain in a few words about my work, so let me give you an analogy: There are five frogs squatting on a branch by the pond. Four of them decided to jump down, may I ask How many are left on the branch?"

"One of course," she said.

"Wrong."

"Huh?"

"Five."

"Why?"

"Because 'deciding' is one thing, 'doing' is another." He spreads his hands. "I do both things every day: I'm busy making decisions, or I'm busy doing things."

Min Hui rolled her eyes and sighed at the ceiling: "Talking for a long time is equivalent to not saying anything."

"So, don't ask, it's not something you can worry about."

Seeing him burying her head in reading the document again, she gave a low "hey": "By the way, I'll pay you back the one million you borrowed from me. I still have 400,000, a total of 1.4 million I'll transfer it to you together." She pointed to the handbag on the sofa, "I'm afraid you'll have to use the money. The cash check is ready, and it's in that bag."

She knows it's a drop in the bucket, and there's only so much she can do to help.

Xin Qi was slightly startled and smiled: "Well, you are very generous, but you don't need it." Seeing her embarrassment, he added, "Thank you for your kindness."

"Take it easy, don't push too hard, don't be desperate like Su Tian." She looked at him, "I know you're helping me, but I don't want to see you both fall into my hands."

"I'm not helping you, Min Hui." He said lightly, "I just saw Su Tian in you."

The day after he finished speaking, Min Hui moved into the Qingteng Garden.

That morning, Xin Qi flew to Beijing to visit an important investor. He originally planned to come back to pick her up at noon, but the plane made an emergency landing in Changsha due to lightning and arrived at the hospital at 7 p.m.

He looks tired and preoccupied.

Financial reports say that the acquisition battle between Bluebird and Guanchao has entered a stalemate, and both sides are secretly competing. Xin Qi's side, because of the loss of Yuanmao's support, can only find funds everywhere to grit his teeth. Industry insiders commented that in view of Guanchao's consistently good financial performance, as long as Bluebird can survive, it can make a profit even if it doesn't win, and the benefits are even more impressive if it wins. On the tide watch side, life is not easy: the military within the group is shaken, and team members are poached by many parties; overseas funds and banks have postponed loans to stay on the sidelines; dozens of projects have been asked to change terms, delay progress or even terminate cooperation due to equity issues...

Cao Mu said that Xin Qi's financing was not smooth, so far no major news has been heard. On the other side of Guanchao, a white knight was found, and it is said that they have already talked about it.

It's a bit strange that Xin Qi insisted on letting Min Hui live in his apartment to recuperate at this critical moment. Of course, his apartment is bright and spacious, with complete facilities, many rooms and a large bathroom, which is indeed more convenient for patients. Min Hui didn't want to cause trouble at first, so she didn't object when she thought that she could see Su Quan every day when she moved in. But in my heart I couldn't help but wonder: What kind of identity did she live in? In what capacity do you get along with him? Said to be the child's mother, they were never married. Said it was his girlfriend, but he refused to admit it. If there is no Su Tian, ​​they will probably never know each other in this life.

The current relationship has finally reached a delicate balance, and finally no longer embarrassing each other - Min Hui feels that it is already very good, and the next thing can be left to its nature.

At home, Xin Qi gave up the master bedroom and carried her from the wheelchair to the bed. As soon as he put it down, he suddenly realized that the quilt was not folded, the sheets were not changed, and there was a dent in the pillow, and everything was the same as when he got up.

"It's alright." She lay straight, with a pelvic strap tied around her waist. She felt that there was something under her shoulder, and stretched out her hand to pull it. It was a white vest. Xin Qi hurriedly picked it up and threw it into the laundry basket and said, "No, it has to be changed. The sheets have been used for a week."

He has a serious cleanliness addiction, but it varies. Essentially a perfectionist, he seeks the quality of life, but only in his leisure time. Once busy, he becomes very casual: documents are piled up, clothes are thrown around, and the house can become a chicken coop.

He pulled open the closet and pulled out a set of white sheets and put them aside. Help her turn her body gently, roll one side of the old sheet from the edge to the midline, let her roll over, and put on the new sheet neatly. The whole process does not take less than two minutes to get up. She didn't expect him to be so skilled: "Hey, where did you learn this?"

"Learn from the nurses, I've been lying down like this more often than you."

The freshly changed sheets smelled of lilies, and the fabric was brittle and smooth as silk. Min Hui had lived with Su Quan in this apartment for a while, so she was not unfamiliar. When she thought that they were going to be together every day for the next month, and she couldn't get up easily, she felt a little restrained.

This kind of restraint actually started when I was hospitalized. The solution is to listen to shrimp music and turn up the earphone to avoid cranky thoughts. Or take off the earphones and listen to him, not interrupting whatever you say, just keep nodding in agreement - "Oh really?", "No!", "Yeah.", "Fine!" ——For fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing, he took advantage of the topic, and the two of them fought again. At that time, it would be impossible for her to slam the door and leave.

Seeing her lying on the bed without saying a word and rolling her eyes, Xin Qi suddenly asked, "Do you want to go to the toilet? A fully automatic toilet has just been installed in the bathroom."

"I don't want to."

"Watching TV?"

"I don't want to."

"What do you want?"

"I don't want to do anything, it's good to lie down, maybe I will fall asleep in a while."

"Okay, I have to work, answer a few urgent emails, sit here, do you mind?"

He was so polite as if it was her apartment, so she had to say, "Please."

There is plenty of heating. He took off his jacket, took off his tie, changed into a pair of slippers, took out the computer from his bag, and sat down on the sofa beside the bed to concentrate on typing.

She happened to be sleeping on the edge of the bed, and they were close enough to smell the citrus on him. As he typed, she tilted her head and stared at him silently. Xin Qi has a beautiful profile: a slender neck, a clear jaw, and a slightly upturned nose, which makes her feel full of yuppie. Sitting relaxed and upright—shoulders stretched, back straight—she thought it would be tiring at one point, had apparently become his second nature.

Twenty minutes later, when the email seemed to be finished, he closed the notebook, stretched a lot, and asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

She shook her head and said no, watching him go to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, return to his seat and drink it slowly, yawning as he drank.

"Where's Su Quan?" she asked, "Why haven't you come back yet?"

She remembers having piano lessons today.

"He has a piano performance at night. It ends at 9:30. I asked Shen Han to take him there."

She wanted to ask a few more questions. On the table next to her, his phone began to vibrate constantly. He glanced at the message on it and said, "I'll go to the next door to call back."

He stayed in the study for half an hour, the room was dark, and Min Huibai fell asleep bored.

I don't know how long she slept, and she suddenly felt someone talking to her while she was half asleep. Suddenly opening his eyes, he saw Xin Qi kneeling on the bed with his legs and pressing her body hard.

"Hey, hey, you can't move around in bed." His voice was soft, barely audible. "The bones aren't ready yet."

She looked at him sweating profusely, thinking she was dreaming: "Huh? What's wrong with me?"

"Are you swimming in your dreams?" He looked at her face, his eyes wandering and searching, "to dance?"

"How do you know?"

"You can guess it by looking at the pose."

She smiled, and then she felt awake, with a large ice pack on her forehead.

"You have a fever," he said. "Thirty-nine degrees five. I asked the doctor, and the doctor said that if it doesn't go down after a day, he will go to the hospital."

"The quilt is too thick." Her face was sweaty and damp.

He replaced her with a light quilt, turned up the heat, and gave her a fever reducer.

She smelled a scent of coconut bread, remembering that Su Quan liked to eat it, and asked, "Are you making supper?"

"Su Quan is back," Xin Qi said. "I said I was hungry, so I baked one."

As soon as the voice fell, there was a child's giggling laughter, and a figure rushed over, called "Mom", buried his head in her face, and kissed her hard.

"Mom, mom, does your 'Bang Bang' still hurt?" Su Quan asked.

——"Bangbang" in American means buttocks.

"It doesn't hurt, it's long gone," she said softly.

"Mom, Mom, are you hungry? Dad baked a lot of bread," Su Quan said, bouncing in front of her, "Will I feed you?"

"Would you?" she said.

"Yes, yes, you used to feed me every day." Su Quan smiled and ran to the kitchen to bring a piece of bread, standing by the bed, breaking it into small pieces and feeding it to her mouth.

***

At night, he carried her to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth, washed her face, wiped her body, and carried her back to the bed after she was done.

Su Quan has fallen asleep.

He sat on the couch beside the bed with his hand in his hands, pounding on the calculator while looking at chart data.

"Are you counting how much money you have left, Xin Qi?" she asked.

"No."

"Don't worry, if you go broke, just do it with me," she said. "We can make money by writing an app together."

"I can't write apps."

"I can write. You say I will write, and I will help you realize it. I think you have a lot of ideas."

"Well, if it really gets to that point, let alone writing an app, I'll do it all selling biscuits."

"It's great to be able to go up and down."

He continues to tap on the calculator. After a while, Min Hui asked again, "Xin Qi, tell me the truth."

"Listen."

"Are you an impulse buy about the acquisition? Have you done enough research beforehand? How sure are you?"

"I'm an investor, not a gambler or a speculator. Of course, I need to do fundamental research to acquire a listed company. If I don't have confidence in the earnings, I won't start at all."

“…”

"The trend of development has always been growing, so I am very optimistic. Of course, I also value the balance sheet, cash flow, ROE and earnings quality."

"In other words, this matter has nothing to do with me, you have already been eyeing this piece of fat."

"That's right."

"Am I just being passionate about myself?"

"Yes."

"That sounds a little hurtful!"

"You asked me to tell the truth."

"Can't you say something nice?"

"You're having a fever, you can dream without me telling you..."

She threw a pillow on top of him, he didn't lift his head, he reached out and grabbed the pillow to the side, grinned twice, put the ice pack on her forehead, and continued typing.

In her imagination, a beautiful home, that's it.

She was very relieved and quickly fell asleep.

It was already early morning when I woke up again, and the sky outside the window was shining brightly. She saw Xin Qi sleeping beside her, with a blanket on her body.

He slept soundly, breathing evenly. Holding an ice pack in his hand, he took care of her for about one night.

She touched his hand and then his chest, feeling a steady heartbeat. He rolled over, his face just facing her, his forehead touching her cheek.

She kissed him lightly, and seeing no response, kissed him again.

This time is a bit longer. His lips were very soft, slightly dry, that healthy red. After kissing her mouth, she went to kiss his face, kiss the tip of his nose... After walking for a while, she stepped back, only to find that his eyes were wide open, staring at him without blinking. Own.

Her face flushed red—

"Turn your head away," he said sternly.

She thought he was going to get angry, so she turned her head quickly and buried half of her face in the pillow.

A hard thing is inserted into the ear, followed by a "drip" sound.

"Thirty-seven degrees one." He looked at the ear thermometer and said lightly, "Your fever is gone."

***

Two weeks later.

Morning Star Stray Dog Rescue Base is located in a row of abandoned factories near the National Road in the western suburbs of Bincheng. It had just rained, and the ground was muddy and overgrown with grass. Xin Qi got out of the car and walked 500 meters to the office of the base.

The door was half open, and a woman wearing sunglasses and jeans was chatting in a low voice with two staff members in their thirties. Seeing him knocking on the door, she was stunned for a moment: "Xin Qi, President Xin, which gust of wind blows you away? Did you blow it?"

"Good morning, ma'am."

This person is Cheng Qirang's wife Zheng Yiting. Xin Qi has met her a few times and is considered an acquaintance. The two shook hands, Zheng Yiting took off her sunglasses, looked at him, and asked, "How did you know I was here?"

"They said you set up a stray dog ​​rescue center outside Xicheng. I'll come and take a look." He said with a smile, "I brought a truckload of dog food by the way, and the driver will move in later."

"Thank you." Zheng Yiting smiled, "I'm going to the yard to take a look, together?"

"Okay."

The two walked out the door, turned to the right, and faced a kennel. There lived stray dogs of all sizes and breeds, all looking disheveled and scruffy. When he saw someone coming, he ran around, barked, and made a lot of noise.

"Have you ever had a dog?" Zheng Yiting asked.

"There is a Collie at home in New York, twelve years old, living with my parents."

"Twelve? That's grandpa."

"Yeah. I look healthy now, I eat well, but I'm slow and don't like to move around." After that, he took out his mobile phone and opened the photo album, and slid it to her one by one, "Then, This is it, it loves to eat wood chips, so I dare not take it to the park."

"It's great to grow old with the dog." Zheng Yiting sighed. She is very small, and she can see that she is very good at maintaining her round face. She wears a Hermès crocodile skin Kangkang bag on her body, and she looks calm and comfortable.

It really is Zheng Lan's daughter. She has never seen anything since she was a child.

"I have an office in Guanchao, across from your building," she said. "Why are you here looking for me?"

"Of course I would like to visit you at Guanchao, but under the current situation, I'm afraid I'm not welcome." Xin Qi said.

Zheng Yiting paused and looked at him coldly without answering. Turning around, she led him to a simple reception room with a table and four rattan chairs. She pointed to the chairs and said, "Please take a seat. You came to me, surely you didn't come to see these dogs?"

"I came to you because I think you are a caring person," Xin Qi smiled lightly, "I want to tell you that BBG's holding of shares in Guanchao is mainly because of its optimism about the future of Guanchao. It's a good financial investment."

"Financial investment?" She snorted, "Don't play this with me, Mr. Xin. You are in the investment business, and you are interested in our Guanchao AAA credit rating. If BBG can hold a controlling stake, you can use the Guanchao's financing channels provide financing for your own investment projects and enjoy low interest rates. In this way, you can greatly reduce your own financing costs. Don't tell me you haven't made this calculation."

After saying this, her face lifted slightly, her eyes swept to Xin Qi's face, she settled down, and observed his reaction. A staff member came in and poured them two cups of tea.

"You misunderstood. BBG's credit is also top-notch. We invest in Guanchao, not to take advantage of it or damage it, on the contrary, to develop it in a better direction: with our participation, we can Help Guanchao to expand its marketing system, improve its corporate culture, and formulate rules and regulations to prohibit widespread sexual harassment and discrimination. Only in this way can we unite more groups, work together, and strive for the future of Guanchao. Why is the stock price of Guanchao rising? Can't you get up? Don't you think it has something to do with your husband's disgraceful behavior, ma'am?"

"Don't be so hype, it's just your PR strategy!" Zheng Yiting sneered, "Mr. Xin, I hope you will accept it as soon as you see it. You have greatly angered my husband, and he vowed to destroy you completely. , if the goal is not achieved, never stop working.”

Her voice was low, but she had a bluff.

"I do not deny your contribution to Guanchao, he is indeed a good operator and a capable technical genius. But he is not a myth, and his decisions are not always right. I am not inferior to him at the level. You know your husband very well, but you probably don't know me. I have been studying tide watching for a long time, and I am fully prepared for this acquisition. Your husband will not take a break, nor do I I won’t take a break,” Xin Qi smiled lightly, “Now I just want to ask you, Guanchao was founded by Ling Zun, and he loved you so much during his lifetime that you have the largest personal shareholding in Guanchao. Would you like to see it? Has your heart and soul turned into a piece of scorched earth?"

"Don't be so grandiose," Zheng Yiting was unmoved. "There are rumors that you did this just to breathe a sigh of relief for your woman."

"This is also one of my goals. I don't deny it." Xin Qi took a sip of tea, "Cheng Qirang bullying others, no good. Bullying my woman, even less so. Besides, he won't even let your dog. Let go of..."

Zheng Yiting didn't react at once, thinking she heard it wrong: "What did you say?"

"Your dog was bitten to death by a black pit bull, right? Your husband was right next to him, and he could have stopped, but he did nothing. I think he must have hated that one. A dog?"

Zheng Yiting looked stunned. After a long silence, she muttered, "He said he wasn't there at the time. I didn't tell anyone these details about Pluto's death. How do you know it was a pit bull , and it's black?" Despite her efforts to control it, her voice still trembled.

"Because he threatened Min Hui, saying that if he was not obedient, he would end up with that dog."

She took a deep breath, her face gradually turned pale, and she did not speak for a long time.

"You're his wife, don't want to believe it, I understand." He slowly handed her another cup of tea.

Zheng Yiting took a sip and continued to be silent.

Xin Qi didn't speak, leaning on the rattan chair and looking at her silently.

After a while, Zheng Yiting asked, "What is your current shareholding ratio?"

"Twenty-seven percent."

“…”

"On the tide watch side, your major shareholders: Jingrui, Puhua, management, and corporate stocks together hold 29.7% of the shares."

"If you want to hold a controlling stake, it's a lot worse."

"Not much, just 4% of yours."

"Guanchao was founded by my father, and I will not sell my shares."

"I can give you a good price."

"Impossible," she shook her head firmly, then added after a moment, "but I can cede the voting rights to you."

Xin Qi's eyes lit up: "What is the condition?"

She was silent for a few seconds, and said, "My dad has always wanted me to take over the management of Guanchao, so he specially sent me abroad to study management for a few years, but I am not interested in this business. My dad sees me. It is unlikely that he will inherit the family business, so he left everything to Cheng Qirang, and asked me to marry him, because when it comes to business, my father only trusts his family."

Xin Qi listened silently and did not answer.

"Me too. Only if we are family will I feel comfortable handing over the voting rights to you."

Her hint was obvious, Xin Qi immediately shook her head: "No."

Zheng Yiting frowned: "Why?"

"I will not marry you for four percent of the vote, even if only formally."

“Why not?”

"Madam, if I can't be trusted, you won't be able to bind me with marriage."

She looked at him without saying a word for a long time. At the end, she said quietly: "I thought you would at least think about it."

"Don't think about it, Absolutelyno. (Absolutely not.)" His tone was firm.

She smiled mysteriously: "What I just said was just a test."

He froze slightly.

"Congratulations, you passed."

He looked at her, calmly: "Then your real condition is-"

"You promise to let Cheng Qirong get out after you come to power."