Xu Heli had just finished a phone call with Lin Mei. He hadn't quite believed her at first, but seeing Xu Ying show up at his door confirmed it; Lin Mei hadn't lied. Xu Ying approached Xu Heli, demanding, "Who told you to go find her?"
"I gave you time to consider, and you didn't listen, so I had to handle it myself," Xu Heli said, looking at him as if he were a disobedient child. "I've indulged your whims enough over the years. You liked racing, and I let you pursue it. You achieved success, so I overlooked it for a while. But finding a woman like that? I absolutely forbid it."
Xu Heli's tone dripped with disdain. Hearing this, Xu Ying's anger flared even more. He disliked anyone slandering Lin Mei. "What woman? It's not your place to define who she is. Do you even know her? You hear gossip and then come here to smear her name. Have you been in business all these years for nothing?"
The smile vanished from Xu Heli's face. Although Xu Ying had been rebellious all these years, he had never spoken to him with such disrespect. Now, for the sake of Lin Mei, he was speaking to him like this. "I think you've been blinded by a woman, to the point where you don't even recognize your own father!"
"You're the one smearing her first," Xu Ying argued with Xu Heli. "You know how it feels to be insulted, yet you judge her based on those nonsensical rumors!"
"I judge her? Fine. Even if those rumors are false, the fact that she was pregnant and had an abortion is proven by surgical records and medical reports. It's ironclad evidence. Do you still claim it's fake? What decent woman gets pregnant without a steady boyfriend? Are you out of your mind, or have you never seen a woman before, that you have to find one with a promiscuous private life!"
"Having an abortion doesn't automatically mean a promiscuous private life. How do you know she wasn't a victim?!" Xu Ying couldn't agree with Xu Heli's viewpoint. If it weren't for Lin Mei's privacy, he would have told Xu Heli the truth about the child. Lin Mei was clearly the victim, and Xing Zheng, the perpetrator, was using her trauma to threaten her.
"I don't have time to concern myself with her. Just remember this: neither your mother nor I will ever accept her into this family," Xu Heli commanded Xu Ying. "After graduation, return to Lucheng with me. You've had enough of running wild; it's time you came back to shoulder your responsibilities."
"I'm not going back. Don't even dream about it!" Xu Ying laughed sarcastically. He threatened Lin Mei into breaking up with him and now wanted him to go back and "shoulder responsibilities"? What a fantasy!
Xu Heli had anticipated Xu Ying's reaction. He spoke calmly, "I know your wings have grown strong, and you don't want to listen to me. If you don't return, I'll have no choice but to inform Lin Mei's parents about her abortion. When she comes to me for an explanation, what am I supposed to say?"
Every nerve in Xu Ying's body bristled. He gritted his teeth, unable to believe that Xu Heli would threaten him like this! He hadn't done anything so excessive even when he insisted on pursuing racing back then!
Xu Heli chuckled. He stepped forward and lightly patted Xu Ying's shoulder, like a doting father. "I don't want to threaten you. Just be obedient and do as I say, and I won't make things difficult for Lin Mei."
"I'm just asking you to come back and manage the company. I won't stop you from racing," he said, his tone very considerate.
Xu Ying, however, couldn't bring himself to smile. He had never felt so frustrated. The problem was right in front of him, yet he couldn't find any solution. He could disregard himself, but he couldn't disregard Lin Mei.
As Xu Ying remained silent, Xu Heli reminded him, "You must remember, every time you contact her, every time you get close to her, you are harming her."
Lin Mei's insomnia had worsened in the past few days. Previously, with the help of medication and counseling, her condition had gradually improved, and her dosage was being reduced according to a plan.
However, after visiting the Zhuhua Villa that day, her symptoms became increasingly erratic. Likely due to several days of sleeplessness, she experienced palpitations. Lying in bed at night, all she could hear was her own heart pounding. Images of swords and battles flashed through her mind. Even with the maximum dosage of medication, she couldn't fall asleep. Her body was utterly exhausted, yet her mind was hyperactive.
Over the weekend, Lin Mei lay in bed for two days, getting only about four hours of sleep. On Monday, she walked to work as if she were floating. Sitting at her computer, looking at the data on the screen, she felt dizzy and nauseous. After drinking two cups of coffee, she wasn't as sleepy, but her palpitations became even more severe.
She had no appetite for lunch. While resting in her office, Lin Mei received a call from the finance department of Shuangmu, requesting her to handle some urgent work. Lin Mei agreed and rushed to Shuangmu. The moment she appeared, the people in the finance department were startled by her ghastly complexion. The Finance Director asked her with concern, "Is Manager Lin ill?"
"I didn't sleep well last night," Lin Mei replied. "It's nothing. Please give me the report data."
Lin Mei became engrossed in her work for several more hours. She didn't want her personal condition to affect her work and endured the discomfort to review the reports before leaving the finance department.
However, before she could even exit the finance department's office, she collapsed straight down, startling everyone around her.
Finance Director Lily rushed over and, with a few colleagues, helped Lin Mei up. "Call an ambulance quickly!"
The finance department descended into chaos. Fortunately, there was a hospital within three kilometers of the Shuangmu office building, and the ambulance arrived in less than ten minutes. Lily and two other colleagues accompanied Lin Mei to the hospital, where she was taken to the emergency room.
News of what happened in the finance department quickly spread to other departments. Lin Mei had previously been rumored to be involved with Xing Zheng. When people learned that the person who collapsed was Lin Mei, conspiracy theories began to circulate. They believed that Lin Mei, having failed to get close to Xing Zheng, was trying to gain sympathy by faking an illness to attract his attention.
When Zhuang Wan went to the marketing department to get documents, he happened to overhear several employees discussing the matter. He stopped and sternly told them, "Discussing gossip about the boss and slandering a company partner during work hours will result in the forfeiture of your bonuses for this quarter."
The employees immediately stopped their discussion. At Shuangmu, Zhuang Wan's attitude represented Xing Zheng's.
Previously, Zhuang Wan had not expressed any opinion on Lin Mei's affairs. Coupled with the rampant rumors of her "clinging," they had assumed that Xing Zheng didn't take Lin Mei seriously. Now, it seemed they had been naive; there were likely many unknown secrets involved.
Zhuang Wan went from the marketing department to the finance department, grabbed an employee, and inquired about what had happened. After getting the details, he proceeded to Xing Zheng's office.
Zhuang Wan handed the file in his hand to Xing Zheng and finished his work report. He lingered by the desk, hesitating, clearly wanting to say something more. Xing Zheng prompted him, "If you have something to say, just say it."
Zhuang Wan: "This afternoon, Manager Lin came to the finance department."
Xing Zheng looked puzzled. Was this some rare piece of information that needed reporting?
"Manager Lin felt unwell for some reason and collapsed. She was just taken to the nearby Huajin Hospital by ambulance."
Xing Zheng suddenly stood up.