上海安全生产监督局

Chapter 9

After going to the hospital for a checkup today, she had tidied up her room and taken a shower before arriving at the company after 1pm.

"Sister Nian!" A young girl at a nearby workstation stood up when she saw Shen Nian arrive. "Sister Nian, why did you only just get here now? Don\'t tell me you were out late last night and only just woke up!"

"Mm," Shen Nian just went along with what she said. Looking at the intern tag around the girl\'s neck, she asked, "Lingling, did you get the contract?"

As soon as she said this, the other female employees around couldn\'t help but tease her.

"It\'s true what they say about Nian Nian being the most hardworking spinster in our company!"

"That\'s right, she was out with President Lu last night discussing business and now that she\'s sobered up from the drinking she rushed right over."

"Miss Shen, you\'re only 22 but you work harder than us 25 and 26 year olds. We\'re embarrassed!"

"No matter how big the project, as long as Miss Shen takes charge of it, it\'s guaranteed success."

Shen Nian\'s lips curved up slightly.

Just then a female employee walked over. Seeing that Shen Nian had arrived, her eyes lit up.

"Miss Shen, the other party has sent over a contract template for us to review. I printed out a copy, could you take a look and see if there are any issues?"

"Mm," Shen Nian took the contract from the employee and read through it carefully from start to finish. After confirming there were no problems, she looked up at the woman, "It\'s fine. Print two copies after getting final confirmation from President Lu, then arrange the signing ceremony once President Lu has also confirmed there are no issues."

The woman took back the contract with a dazed expression, blinking her eyes in confusion. "But President Lu hasn\'t come in today."

"He hasn\'t come in?" Shen Nian\'s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"That\'s right," the woman nodded and said, "President Lu said he had something to deal with today and wouldn\'t be coming to work. He said we should resolve any work issues ourselves if we can, and refer the important matters to Manager Lu."

"Shen Nian."

The woman had just finished speaking when a male voice called out Shen Nian\'s name from behind.

Shen Nian turned around to see a young man, or more precisely, a boy.

He looked to be around 20 years old, still quite green and boyish. He was very tall with some similar features to Lu Lingchuan, the main difference probably being the eyes. After many years moving in cutthroat business circles, Lu Lingchuan\'s gaze was piercing and profound. The boy\'s eyes contained more innocence.

Shen Nian told the female employees to get back to work first before walking over to the boy. "Did you need me to confirm something?"

"No," the boy looked at her. "I wanted to talk to you."

Shen Nian was startled for a moment, then realized who he must be. "Then let\'s go to the break room."

"Okay."

The Lingrui Group had set up a special break room for employees to rest in when tired from work. Next to the tables was a coffee machine, mineral water, various fruit juices, some snacks on the tables, and a fridge. The company pastry chef would put desserts inside every day for the employees.

Shen Nian sat on a stool looking at the boy in front of her. "What did you want to talk about?"

Lu Lingchen looked at her. "Why did you come into work today?"

"Why wouldn\'t I be able to come into work?" Shen Nian smiled.

"...," Lu Lingchen didn\'t reply, only watching her silently.

The smile on Shen Nian\'s face stiffened slightly before slowly disappearing altogether.

Lu Lingchen stood up.

Next to each break table was a thermos flask in case female employees needed hot water for when it was "that time of the month".

Lu Lingchen came back with a cup of hot water and placed it in front of her.

"Thanks."

Shen Nian hugged the cup and took a small sip.

"Sister Nian," Lu Lingchen looked at her seriously. "Quit your job. Leave the company and leave the capital."

Hearing this, Shen Nian raised her head to look at him. "Reason?"

"To start over," Lu Lingchen said.

"......"

Shen Nian stared at him without speaking. The atmosphere became heavy.

After some unknown period of time, Shen Nian couldn\'t help but laugh softly. "Start over..."

She shook her head with a laugh. "There\'s no such thing as starting over. You only live once, there\'s no rebirth."

"And...," she looked at Lu Lingchen seriously. "Those words shouldn\'t come from you. Your sister died because of me, you should hate me."

At the mention of his sister, Lu Lingchen\'s breathing became a little rushed. He stared at Shen Nian, "So you also think my sister committed suicide because of you?"

Shen Nian had a dazed expression. "It was my fault."

Lu Lingchen said, "Sometimes there is no right answer. However it\'s viewed, it\'s right and it\'s also wrong."

Was Shen Nian in the wrong back then? To say she did no wrong would be a lie in the eyes of his family. She abandoned Ling Rui and fled by herself leading to Ling Rui\'s incident and subsequent suicide. In their eyes, she was selfish.

Yet to say she was wrong would also be incorrect.

Given the circumstances at that time, even if she had stayed it would only have meant one more victim. She couldn\'t have saved Ling Rui, and likewise wouldn’t have been able to protect herself either.

Hearing Lu Lingchen\'s words, Shen Nian couldn\'t help but snort out a laugh.

She took a sip of water. "I didn\'t expect a 20 year old kid like you to be able to say something like that."

But Lu Lingchen replied seriously, "I used to hate you a lot too, but later I understood this reasoning, so I don\'t hate you anymore."

He continued, "My parents and brother all hate you because you abandoned Ling Rui back then leading to what happened to her. In their eyes you already have an extremely bad impression, so you may as well be more selfish. Don\'t dwell on the past. Move to another city and restart your life."

"......" Shen Nian didn\'t refute him. She just had a somewhat dazed expression and was silent for a good while before responding. "Memory is punishment, punishing those who dwell in the past."

She met his gaze seriously. "I won\'t leave. Like I said, I will accept any revenge from your family."

Hearing this, Lu Lingchen looked at her incredulously.

"You\'re insane."

After a long pause, those were the words that came out.

Shen Nian laughed. "Perhaps."

"Anything else? If not I\'ll get going first," she said as she stood up.

"My brother approved one month of leave for you," Lu Lingchen said. "Use this month to properly rest. Because it might cause issues, I put the nutrients in my car. Come with me to the parking lot later and hand over your work before going on leave."

Shen Nian frowned. "I don\'t need it."

"It\'s not up to you." Lu Lingchen also stood up. "My brother won\'t be coming to work much this next month, so he doesn\'t need you either. Go rest, and come back to work next month."

Without waiting for Shen Nian\'s willingness to listen, Lu Lingchen also informed her, "My brother is already 25. My mom is very concerned about his marriage prospects, so she asked a matchmaker to help select potential partners. He\'ll be busy with that for the time being."