Chapter 94

Mu Hanxia stood by in silence until the room quieted down. Lu Zhang looked sideways and away from her. She noticed that his cheeks were a little red, probably from the wine he drank. Maybe that’s why he was so temperamental just now, being mean to me one moment and the next protecting me from that girl by scolding her? 

She walked over and squatted down to look at him. In the dim light, Lu Zhang’s fingers moved slightly.

“Lu Zhang, what made you feel bad?” she asked gently.

He looked back silently, seeing her as clear as water eyes. The fire in his stomach died, all the resentment and violent feelings were smothered in his heart.

“Nothing,” he replied in a low voice.

Mu Hanxia kept gazing at him, and after a while, he actually felt an inexplicable embarrassment and moved his eyes away, no longer looking at her.

Then she spoke again, “Xiao Lu, you know what? I’ve never lived in a villa as nice as this one. In Beijing, such a place would cost at least 20 million, right?”

Lu Zhang was slightly stunned and raised his eyes to look at her.

She smiled. “But, do you know… I don’t envy you.”

He did not say anything.

“I don’t know what has happened that caused  you to want to give up midway. Or maybe it’s because you’re not interested in what we’re doing. You think that even if Yuejia doesn’t make it, it wouldn’t have any substantial effect on you, right? These days you skipped work, but the people below are still working overtime, making the final sprint. You do not come, so although people dare not talk about it, the heart still harbors all kinds of speculation. They will feel that you do not support this matter.”

“I’m not unsupportive,” Lu Zhangwei said in a tiny voice.

Mu Hanxia just kept smiling, “You don’t realize that during the days you are willing to go running around the site, talk about suppliers, scold or praise these employees, you are already different in the hearts of the people in the company. They are starting to get used to it, eyes are on you, looking in your direction. The opening ceremony is in a few days. Even if the performance is successful, if you are not there, for these people who just started to follow you, it would be considered a failure.”

Lu Zhang, feeling moved, opened his lips but did not speak. He really never considered this issue.

“When I say I don’t envy you, it’s not that I don’t desire those things. Rather, I will not always look upward on the road of life, but let myself look downward, too.” Mu Hanxia said.

Lu Zhang raised his eyes. “Look down?”

“Well,” she replied, “All the inspirational books, all the business leaders, are encouraging us to look up, right? But actually, that’s not right. Looking up is the goal, looking down is life. The year I graduated from high school, my parents died. I didn’t even get into college. I got hired at the supermarket as a salesman. The current me who returned from abroad merely had a high school diploma in the past. Does this seem unimaginable to you?”

Lu Zhang’s eyes flickered, and he said softly, “Well.”

“But at that time, I told myself to look down. There are still people who don’t even have a house to live in or a roof to cover their heads. In our supermarket, some thirty-something sisters have no one to rely on and have to raise their children alone after work. No penny to be broken into two cents to spend, even the money to take public transport is out of reach, so they can only walk to work every day. I witnessed a homeless man who went to the vegetable market and hesitated for half a day, bought a dollar of cooked dried bean curd and gobbled it down. There really are people who don’t even have money to eat. And I was still earning 800 yuan a month at that time. I felt that I really had to be content. To be content with life, not to be content with dreams. 

“You were born rich, without any effort you have everything that ordinary people struggle to aspire to all their lives. I think you must have looked upward and wanted to become an entrepreneur like your father, or even better than your father, after succeeding Fang Yi. I know you are not willing to be mediocre.

“When have you ever looked downward? Look at the company, at those employees of yours—they are not mine, they are not anyone else’s, they are yours—they work hard every day to be appreciated by you, to get a better salary and status to give back to their families. If Yuejia is successful, all their hard work will not be in vain, they will be able to follow you and be able to raise their standings in the industry. And they will be able to proudly say that this thing we did is not only a business success, but also gives back to the society. 

“You, as the successor of Fang Yi, have more than just an enviable position and benefits, you also have the future and responsibility of many people. You look down and go to the company. They have all trusted you, and they are waiting for you.”

Lu Zhang remained silent. In the blurred light, he quietly listened to her talk…

“I think a person, no matter what position in life, humble or powerful, must have the breadth of mind to look down and the courage to go up.” She said, “You are, at heart, such a person. I always knew that you and I were the same kind of people. You can now handle both Yuejia and Fang Yi, not for your father’s interest, but for yourself. This is the path of your life. You are smart, decisive, passionate, and upright, and in fact I believe that whether you have someone beside you to teach and help you, sooner or later, you will also go down a path like that.”

—

That night, after Mu Hanxia left, Lu Zhang sat alone in the dimly lit room for a long time as what she said kept repeating in his head. He was unable to imagine that there were people in this world who could only afford to use one dollar for a meal. He also could not imagine that she, who was so polished and sharp, was once a supermarket salesman; those salesmen he never even bothered to look at. In a trance, he discovered he had nothing to be proud of or brag about. This kind of money was like dirt in the days of youth, he always felt that something was missing. Now, he suddenly realized what he had, which was nothing.

She said that no matter what position in life a person is in, they should have the courage to look down and go up. Lu Zhang thought about it and laughed. How can she say such majestic words? Such a slender and graceful woman.

The woman I like.

She spoke to persuade him to go to the right path of life. It only made him want to adore her more and more.

Lu Zhang raised his hand and covered his face. What if, one day he likes her to the point of death, what to do ah? 

The man she likes ……

The man she likes has long been able to turn the clouds in the mall. Not the fledgling in him.

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Additional Note: Sorry for the extra-long wait. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Let’s welcome Kisk-sama. She will be the main editor from now on as our dearest Lark-senpai has been tortured by life. Till next time, ciao!