Water and Fire~Chapter 69.1: The Person with Supernatural Powers

 

Chapter 69.1: The Person with Supernatural Powers

For several days, Ren Yan stopped actively inquiring about the project in Shanghai.

The day after returning to Beijing from Shanghai was Friday, and the company had a day-long meeting scheduled. He spent the entire day absent-minded.

He was upset and in a bad mood. He kept replaying the conversation he had with Tan Shen in Shanghai.

After the day's meeting, looking back at the minutes, he found that he hadn't had a strong impression of most of the entries he had handwritten in the notebook.

He would never have been in this state before. If Lei Zhenzi knew he could be so absent-minded, he would probably laugh his head off and go buy five thousand firecrackers.

But his state of mind continued until the next day, Saturday.

Subordinates in the department gradually dropped their weekly reports into his mailbox. Only Chu Qianmiao hadn't sent her weekly report until yesterday after get off work, and until this morning.

That missed report was like a catalyst for his bad mood, and he was irritated all Saturday morning.

Unable to sit still in one position for more than three minutes, he'd have to get up and walk around aimlessly.

He'd just lit a cigarette, halfway through, and placed it in the ashtray. When he thought about smoking again, he completely forgot the half-smoked cigarette was still in the ashtray and lit a whole new one.

He pulled the rocking chair to the window and rocked it gently in the thin sunlight, hoping to find inner peace. But by the end, not only did he find the creaking of the chair annoying him, but even the sound of his own breathing was annoying him.

He was so annoyed that he wanted to throw the ashtray on the floor, throw the materials out the window, throw his phone against the floor-to-ceiling glass, and send a message to scold the person who forgot to send the weekly report. But where was the weekly report?

When he regained his focus, his eyes fixed on the phone in his hand, he realized he had actually sent the message.

His mind went blank for a second. He wondered if he had gone mad just a few seconds ago.

Then he quickly long-pressed the message and selected "Retract."

He sent a new message about the weekly report.

The girl quickly replied, "Sorry, Mr. Ren. I was busy yesterday and forgot. I'll get it back to you right away."

He looked at her reply, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether his annoyance had subsided or intensified.

He tapped the words on the screen, trying to explain his excessive use of exclamation marks. "I was in a bad mood just now. Remember not to forget again."

He finished typing but didn't press send. He stared at the words, a little dazed.

Tell her not to forget about the weekly report or his birthday.

He slowly deleted the line.

He suddenly wondered what had gotten him into such a bad mood these past few days.

She was the only one overseeing the Shanghai project. This was her first M&A project, and she was incredibly busy. Tracy rarely visited, but she hadn't come to him to complain. She was already doing a great job.

It wasn't uncommon for others to submit biweekly reports over two weeks when they were busy, and he was understanding. But why was he so critical of her?

He resumed typing.

"If you're too busy, you can submit weekly reports every two weeks, but remember to let me know."

After typing this, he hesitated again.

Could he have been nagging her for a weekly report without even realizing she was busy, and then acted understandingly after doing so? Wasn't that a contradiction?

He stared at the line, wondering what was wrong with him. It was as if he had refined all his lifelong indecision into this very moment, using it against that girl.

As he hesitated, writing and deleting, another message from the girl arrived. She apologized again and promised not to do it again.

He deleted everything he was about to send and tossed his phone aside.

All his strength suddenly drained away. All his bad moods and irritations vanished, and all his energy and spirit vanished. In that moment, he felt more powerless than ever before. Yet, his rational world was also clearer than ever before.

It was terrifyingly clear.

He wondered what right he had to have all these emotions towards her.

What did he look like now? Did he even look like a man?

He thought he was ridiculous. He had been the one who rejected her, and after that rejection, he was the one who couldn't let go.

The phone rang. It was his grandmother. He braced himself and answered.

She coughed as she spoke. He told her not to worry about him, that everything was fine, and to remember to take her medicine. He would visit her once this busy period was over.

When the call ended, his heart was as calm as still water.

Leaning back in his rocking chair by the window, he looked out. A gray, hazy sky.

A Beijing winter without sunshine always makes one feel depressing.

Glancing at the gray, he suddenly accepted Tan Shen's reasoning.

He thought Tan Shen was right.

Since he couldn't give her stability and happiness, he should step aside.

Then step aside completely.

Watch her grow, see her live well, see her succeed in her career. That would be enough.

Ren Yan felt he had figured it out. His mind was at peace again.

He checked on each project, held a few more meetings at the company, and then prepared to spend a few days on the Shanghai project.

Although Cui Xijie was nominally the head of the Shanghai project, he was also involved in two other IPO projects. He was now a "quasi-sponsor"—he had passed the IPO exam and was now a quasi-sponsor representative. To become a true sponsor, he would need to sign off on an IPO project or a secondary offering as a project co-sponsor. Therefore, compared to the Shanghai film and television company's merger with the theater chain, Cui Xijie was more focused on the other two projects.

Ren Yan turned a blind eye to this, because he understood Cui Xijie's desire to become an official underwriter as soon as possible. Having another official underwriter in the department was a good thing. After all, a project required two underwriters to sign off. If Cui Xijie could become an official underwriter, it would mean that he wouldn't have to rely on underwriters from other departments to sign off on future projects.

As for the Shanghai merger and acquisition project, he would personally oversee it.

He booked a flight for the next day and planned to leave work early that afternoon to go home and pack his luggage and materials.

Just before leaving the company, he received a call from Li Tang.

Li Tang said to him gently, "Ah Yan, I came to Litong Securities to see a friend to discuss something. We just finished the meeting. How about having afternoon tea together?"

Ren Yan hadn't known Li Tang had friends at Litong Securities.

He said, "Sorry, I have a business trip tomorrow and need to get home to prepare. Let's meet another time."

He spoke as he walked towards the company entrance.

A voice echoed through the air and the phone receiver, a duet.

"Ah Yan, it's better to meet by chance than to meet by chance. Why don't we have a drink together before going home?" Li Tang was standing at the company entrance, smiling sweetly at him.

Ren Yan put away his phone and nodded. Since they'd bumped into each other, there was no need to avoid them.

They went straight down to the Starbucks on the first floor of the building, ordered two coffees, and chatted over their drinks.

Li Tang did most of the talking, Ren Yan listening.

"Ah Yan, I couldn't compete with Tan Shen for that Shanghai project. He came back with it and was immediately promoted by his boss. He's so proud of himself now," Li Tang said, a little dejectedly.

Ren Yan curled his lips slightly. "If you put all your energy into your work, you can't be any worse than him."

Li Tang looked at him with a gentle and graceful gaze.

"By the way," she chuckled. "Tan Shen was bragging to me. He said he and his junior Qian Miao got along really well during their week in Shanghai, and that rekindling their former love is just around the corner." Li Tang observed Ren Yan's reaction as she spoke.

Ren Yan put down his coffee cup and said calmly, "That's fine. Best wishes to them in advance."

Li Tang stared at him intently for a long moment. Then, she changed the subject, speaking with a hint of resentment. "Ah Yan, you were willing to pick me up when I returned to China, which made me think there was still a chance for us. But why have you been so cold to me since I came back? If that were the case, why would you have come to pick me up in the first place?"

Ren Yan held the coffee cup in one hand, his eyes lowered to the brown liquid. His long, thick lashes cast a faint shadow under his eyes.

"Many things change with time. Once you've tried, you realize there's no going back," he said flatly.

Li Tang was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Okay, then, let's not look back. Let's move forward. It doesn't mean we won't end up on the same path." She smiled, "You're on a business trip tomorrow, so I won't keep you any longer. We'll talk when you get back."

She stood up gracefully and said, "I had a good trip."

Ren Yan smiled faintly in response. A sense of moderation and ease—this was the Li Tang he knew.