Chapter 345

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Facing Zhang Xiaoyun's questioning, Wang Erhai did not answer directly.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in his heart:

"I don't want to argue with you. Go to sleep early. You still have to go to work tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned around and went to the room to get his clothes, then went to shower.

Zhang Xiaoyun entered the room, lay on the bed, and wept silently.

She thought of many things:

If Wang Erhai really went to prison because of this matter, what would she do?

Did she still want to marry Wang Erhai?

Did Wang Erhai love her or not?

If Wang Erhai ended up with nothing in the future, would she still follow him and endure bitter days together?

Her mind was in a bit of a mess.

If Wang Erhai became penniless, she truly didn't know if she would still love Wang Erhai.

Or rather, perhaps she never really loved Wang Erhai that much to begin with; what she loved were the various material conditions Wang Erhai could provide her.

But this is normal too. After all, Wang Erhai's height and looks are very ordinary. To make a woman with some beauty fall in love with a man of very ordinary appearance is truly difficult. If a beauty really fell for such a man, there is only one reason: that man can provide her with very good material conditions and emotional value.

As for Wang Erhai, to say he loved Zhang Xiaoyun very much wasn't really true either.

The reason he got together with Zhang Xiaoyun back then was largely to retaliate against Chen Xiaomei, and partly because he fancied Zhang Xiaoyun's looks.

All men in this world love beauties; Wang Erhai is no exception. If Zhang Xiaoyun weren't a beauty, Wang Erhai would never have invited her to watch a movie back then; he would have picked some other beauty instead.

When it comes down to it, matters of the heart cannot be overanalyzed. The moment you overanalyze, you discover that neither side loves purely; both have ulterior motives. It is only when those ulterior motives turn into a kind of dependence, a kind of habit, that things gradually shift from the material to the spiritual level. Only then does true love appear.

And this true love can never be pure; it may not be pure even for a lifetime.

So don't expect the other party to give unconditionally. In reality, everything has already been clearly priced.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

After finishing his shower, Wang Erhai entered the bedroom and saw Zhang Xiaoyun still crying quietly in the dark. He felt a bit sorry for her.

"What happened earlier was my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I apologize to you."

Wang Erhai took the initiative to make a concession.

However, he did not admit his mistake. He also said:

"In the future, don't speak ill of my big brother in my ear. This is my bottom line."

Zhang Xiaoyun faced away from him and did not respond.

Wang Erhai sat on the edge of the bed, watching Zhang Xiaoyun's back as she lay on the bed sobbing. He felt somewhat irritated and restless.

He suddenly asked a question:

"If I turned into a penniless pauper, would you still love me?"

He had been thinking about this question the whole time he was showering just now.

Actually, he already had the answer long ago.

He knew that if such a day really came, Zhang Xiaoyun would definitely leave him.

But he still couldn't help asking. Even if Zhang Xiaoyun told a white lie to comfort him, his heart would feel a bit better.

Zhang Xiaoyun, however, did not answer him. She just remained silent.

Wang Erhai lay down.

His mood was very complicated.

The two lay back to back, neither speaking anymore.

So-called sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams — nothing more than this.

This night, both of them suffered from insomnia.

The next morning, when the two got up to wash up, Zhang Xiaoyun said to Wang Erhai with a cold face:

"In a bit, you ask your big brother for leave. Say you have something urgent and won't be going to work this morning."

Hearing this, Wang Erhai couldn't help but stare blankly, feeling baffled:

"I'm fine. Why would I ask for leave? The company is at a critical moment of life and death right now. How could I possibly ask for leave?"

Zhang Xiaoyun didn't answer this question of his. Instead, she insisted on her view and continued:

"If you're too embarrassed to bring it up to your big brother, I'll go talk to him. Anyway, you can't continue serving as the legal representative and director. I'll make it clear to him that this is an opinion I proposed on my own initiative. You take half a day off — it counts as avoiding suspicion. You just act like you know nothing. That way, even if your big brother is unhappy, he won't blame you. At most he'll blame me. This also won't affect the relationship between you brothers."

Zhang Xiaoyun's attitude was extremely firm. She looked at Wang Erhai with an icy face and added:

"Wang Erhai, if you're unwilling even with this arrangement, then let's break up."

Wang Erhai froze.

He looked at Zhang Xiaoyun, his gaze somewhat astonished.

He completely hadn't expected that Zhang Xiaoyun would actually be this forceful.

But in his heart he couldn't help admitting that this was indeed a good method.

Actually, deep down he didn't want to be the one to carry this can either. His big brother refused to sell the company no matter what, insisting on toughing it out to the end. In the end, wouldn't he be the one to get hurt?

So in the end he compromised:

"Alright, alright..."

Wang Erhai let out a long sigh, then added a reminder:

"When you speak to my big brother, be tactful. I don't want you to fall out with him, after all, he's my big brother—you'll see him again sooner or later."

Seeing Wang Erhai agree to her suggestion, Zhang Xiaoyun's tone softened a little:

"Don't worry, I'll speak to him properly and won't make a scene. Call your big brother now to ask for leave."

Wang Erhai hesitated a bit:

"What reason should I give for taking leave?"

Zhang Xiaoyun said:

"Just say you have acute gastroenteritis and went to the clinic for an IV drip."

Wang Erhai frowned and muttered:

"Will my big brother believe that?"

Zhang Xiaoyun said:

"What's there to suspect? If he's reasonable, even if he knows you're making an excuse, he'll understand you; if he's selfish, then you don't need to bother with brotherly affection, so why care whether he believes you or not?"

Wang Erhai said nothing more.

He felt somewhat depressed inside, but in the end he still called his big brother, telling him he had acute gastroenteritis, needed to go see a doctor, and wouldn't be able to go to the company for work until the afternoon.

When Wang Dashan received this call, he didn't suspect anything, and even asked if he wanted him to drive him to the hospital.

Wang Erhai quickly said no, saying he'd just get an IV drip at a nearby clinic, and had already gotten it, so there was no need for him to make a special trip.

Wang Dashan vaguely felt something was off, but didn't think much of it, only reminding Wang Erhai to take care of his health before hanging up.

At eight-thirty in the morning, Wang Dashan arrived at Shanhai Real Estate for work.

He discovered Zhang Xiaoyun had actually come.

He had thought Zhang Xiaoyun was keeping his second younger brother company.

"Xiaoyun, I thought you went to the clinic with Erhai, but I didn't expect you to actually come to work."

Wang Dashan casually said this sentence.

Zhang Xiaoyun smiled politely and said:

"Big Brother, I originally wanted to go with Erhai, but Erhai insisted I come to work. Don't worry about him—he just ate something cold last night and got acute gastroenteritis; an IV drip will fix it."

"Mm, tell him to take care of his health." Wang Dashan nodded in agreement, then turned around and was about to walk into the office.

At that moment Zhang Xiaoyun hurriedly called out to him:

"Big Brother, I have something to talk to you about."

Wang Dashan was stunned, looked Zhang Xiaoyun up and down a few times, and felt increasingly that something was off, but in the end he still said:

"Come into the office and say it."