When Wang Ning’an came out after finishing the call, he saw another person in the office. His gaze landed on the woman, but his expression did not change at all. After one glance, he simply ignored her and said, “Why are you here?”
“I heard you didn’t go down for lunch, so I brought lunch to you.” The woman immediately walked over and linked her arm through his. Her expression was delighted, though her voice carried a trace of grievance. Her eyes also flicked toward the food containers on the coffee table, and irritation rose toward the person who had given her inaccurate information. What she did not know was that the other person had only heard Wang Ning’an was still in his office and assumed he was too busy with important matters to eat.
Wang Ning’an pulled his arm free without hesitation. “I’ve already told you, Miss Yu, please don’t bring me meals anymore. It makes things difficult for me.”
“Then what about him? Why is he allowed to bring you food? What’s your relationship with him?” Yu Jing pointed at Wang Cheng, who was watching from the side, clearly unhappy.
Wang Ning’an glanced at Wang Cheng. “He’s different.”
“How is he different?” Yu Jing pressed.
“He’s my younger brother. How can you compare yourself with him?” Wang Ning’an said.
Yu Jing relaxed when she heard Wang Cheng was not a lover, but the second half of Wang Ning’an’s sentence nearly choked her. She stubbornly replied, “Then once I marry you, I’ll be able to compare.”
“Yu Jing, I still have work to do.” Wang Ning’an’s expression remained cool. Ignoring her remark, he directly asked her to leave. It was obvious this was not the first time she had said something like that.
A laugh suddenly sounded. Both of them turned toward Wang Cheng, only to see him instantly suppress the smile on his face and solemnly smooth his not-very-long bangs, as though the laugh had come from someone else.
Yu Jing’s expression became unpleasant, but since he was Wang Ning’an’s younger brother, she could not say anything. Wang Ning’an disliked her spoiled-young-lady temper most of all, so she endured it and said, “Then I won’t disturb you.”
With that, she left the office, looking back repeatedly as she went.
Seeing this, Wang Cheng stood, picked up the food containers from the coffee table, and said, “Big Brother, I won’t disturb you either. I’ll come see you again when I have time.”
Wang Ning’an checked the time. There were only a few minutes left before work resumed, so he did not keep him. “Call me anytime if something happens.”
“I know. Bye, Big Brother.”
Carrying the food containers, Wang Cheng left the office. Most employees had already returned from the cafeteria or nearby restaurants and were standing around in small groups chatting. As he approached, he heard what they were discussing. The subject was Yu Jing, who had left the office less than two minutes earlier. No one dared gossip about her to her face, but once she was gone, they had no such restraint.
Wang Cheng deliberately slowed down. By listening to the conversation, he finally learned who Yu Jing was. After returning later, he looked her up and pieced together the general situation.
The chairman of Shenghui Pharmaceuticals was surnamed Yu, and Yu Jing was his beloved daughter. It was widely rumored that whoever married her would effectively gain five percent of Shenghui Pharmaceuticals’ shares from Chairman Yu. That alone made plenty of young men from prominent capital families want to marry her.
Shenghui Pharmaceuticals was a famous domestic company. Five percent was far from a small stake and would be enough to make someone a major shareholder. This was common knowledge. As a result, Yu Jing had never lacked suitors, but very few truly wanted her for herself. Most were after the shares.
Yu Jing had always been a favored daughter of heaven and had never seriously valued any particular man. Even though she had dated quite a few, most of those relationships had been casual, whether the men were officials’ sons or wealthy heirs. But after Wang Ning’an arrived, Yu Jing genuinely fell for him.
Wang Ning’an was a talent personally valued by Chairman Yu. His ability was obvious to everyone. Only a few months after being transferred to Shenghui Pharmaceuticals’ headquarters, he had been exceptionally promoted to vice president. There were even rumors Chairman Yu valued him so highly that he wanted Wang Ning’an as his son-in-law.
Many people still thought Wang Ning’an’s background was too ordinary. How could someone as picky as Yu Jing choose him? He might be handsome and capable, but their family statuses did not match. Even if they got together, people assumed it would not last.
What no one expected was for Yu Jing to fall for Wang Ning’an at first sight and actively pursue him. Even more astonishing, Wang Ning’an rejected her confession. Whenever he saw her, he was either politely distant or simply ignored her. Yu Jing, however, became more determined with every rejection and had even publicly vowed she would win him over. Some people believed Wang Ning’an was merely playing hard to get.
As a vice president of Shenghui Pharmaceuticals, Wang Ning’an understood better than almost anyone how tempting a five-percent stake was. How could he truly give that up? Any ambitious man would want it, so many people refused to believe his rejection was genuine. Yet after more than a month of Yu Jing pursuing him, his attitude toward her had never changed.
“What are you looking at?” Chu Yifeng appeared behind him. Wang Cheng looked up, then shifted over on the sofa to make room.
Chu Yifeng removed his scarf and coat before sitting down. He glanced at the laptop screen. “Why are you suddenly interested in your brother’s company?”
As soon as Wang Cheng returned, he had opened his laptop and searched for information about Shenghui Pharmaceuticals. Instead, he found a pile of gossip, most of it involving Yu Jing. Some of the stories were exaggerated, but part of it was clearly true, including Yu Jing’s pursuit of his brother.
“Have you ever heard of this ‘Fish Spirit’?”
Elio’s Notes: 王成 is making a name pun here. 俞菁 (Yú Jīng, Yu Jing) sounds like 鱼精 (yú jīng), literally “fish spirit,” so he turns her name into a mocking nickname.
“No.” Chu Yifeng answered immediately. Wang Cheng was not surprised. Chu Yifeng was hardly the type to follow gossip. “I ran into this Fish Spirit when I went to my brother’s company today. She’s chasing him. I heard whoever marries her gets a five-percent stake in Shenghui Pharmaceuticals from her father.”
“Do you think your brother would want it?” Chu Yifeng’s right arm went around Wang Cheng’s back and rested on his shoulder.
“Of course he would.” Wang Cheng nodded without hesitation. He knew his brother. Starting his own company after graduation had already shown Wang Ning’an was ambitious. Things simply had not gone his way then. Now that his career at Shenghui Pharmaceuticals was thriving, Wang Cheng did not believe his brother intended to work for someone else forever.
“But if getting the shares means marrying a woman he doesn’t love, your brother definitely wouldn’t agree, right?”
Wang Cheng tilted his head and looked at him in surprise. “How do you know?”
Chu Yifeng shrugged. “Your whole family has similar personalities. It isn’t hard to guess.”
That was true. They were not related by blood, but twenty-five years of living together had left its mark. Their personalities had influenced one another without them noticing. If someone asked Wang Cheng to marry a woman he did not love for the sake of a few shares and sacrifice the rest of his life, he would refuse no matter what.
“My brother’s love life has been kind of rough. I think it’ll be hard for him to accept that Fish Spirit.” Wang Cheng remembered the woman he had once seen outside Ningjing Community. It was her betrayal that had gradually made his brother colder.
Later, when Wang Cheng spoke to Wang Ning’an on the phone, he casually mentioned the Fish Spirit matter. Wang Ning’an did not say much about it. Instead, he asked when Wang Cheng planned to return to the Zheng family and offered to go with him if he had time. Wang Cheng knew his brother was busy and told him there was no need. Wang Ning’an did not insist.
Meanwhile, the Zheng family was anything but calm. After Father and Mother Zheng decided to bring Wang Cheng back to formally recognize his ancestry, they immediately began making preparations.
Because the matter concerned the second branch, Old Master Zheng had no objection to Wang Cheng returning to the family. He only told them to handle it properly and avoid causing too much impact on the Zheng family.
After dinner that evening, Father and Mother Zheng waited until everyone was present and announced that they had found their younger son. Aside from those who already knew, everyone else stared in shock. The news came so suddenly that some wondered whether they had heard incorrectly.
Zheng Shengming, at least, was accustomed to dealing with major matters and recovered quickly. “Second Brother, are you serious? You really found your son?”
“Eldest Brother, it’s true. We owe it to Jingen. Chengcheng was the one he found. The reason he kept traveling to Shanhai City before was to investigate this. We didn’t tell everyone because we were afraid of getting our hopes up for nothing. Now it’s confirmed, so we wanted to tell the family.” Father Zheng smiled.
“Congratulations, Second Brother.” Zheng Shengyi, the fourth brother, immediately offered his congratulations with genuine delight. His wife Tong Yunfang followed. Both had already learned about the matter, so neither looked surprised. The others had their own thoughts, but they too congratulated the second branch.
“Finding a son you lost for so many years is certainly good news, but Second Brother, did you do a DNA test? Don’t let yourselves be deceived.” The speaker was Eldest Sister-in-law Feng Yuying, and her tone carried a sour edge.
Zheng Jingen glanced at her. “Eldest Aunt doesn’t need to worry. The DNA test has already been done. Otherwise Dad wouldn’t announce it. We’re sharing the good news today because Mom and Dad are bringing him home tomorrow, so everyone should know in advance.”
Feng Yuying curled her lip in private disdain. Anyone who watched the news knew that most abducted or stolen children ended up being sold to remote rural areas. What kind of future could someone raised in a place like that have? Even if he returned to the Zheng family, she doubted he could threaten them. What she really wanted to know was whether, once the second branch’s younger son came home, that old matter would still count the same way.