Shine on Me

The taxi had driven for quite a while before that prickling sensation between my shoulder blades finally faded away.

My phone buzzed with a text from Xiao Dai asking where I was. "Want to join us for dinner?"

I replied briefly, "I'll make my own arrangements."

Returning home, I changed clothes, took a shower, dried my hair, and after sitting on the sofa for a long time, I sent a message to Lin Yusen.

"Are you free to take a call now?"

"Wait a moment."

About ten minutes later, Lin Yusen called back. I spoke with deliberate calm: "I've gotten into some trouble."

Lin Yusen's voice was steady. "What kind? Did you demolish someone's lab?"

"...Nothing that dramatic. Has your grandfather contacted you?"

"No. Is this related to the Sheng family?"

"Yes." I recounted everything that happened in detail. When mentioning Zhuang Xu's appearance, I inevitably hesitated.

Lin Yusen didn't seem to notice at all. After listening, he immediately said, "Your classmate took an unconventional approach, but this doesn't affect us. Don't worry or blame yourself."

I didn't know how to describe what I was feeling. On the way home and after arriving, I'd replayed the events multiple times, thinking I could handle it. Yet despite my bold words to Ye Rong about not caring, I'd still been anxious inside.

Only now, hearing him say this, did I truly relax.

Only then did the grievances and sadness dare to surface.

Then Lin Yusen added, "Moreover, whether you told her about this or not, once she found out, she could have used you to mislead Sheng Xingjie. This isn't necessarily connected to your previous actions."

I froze completely holding my phone. If his earlier words were just comfort, this completely absolved me.

"Lin Yusen, don't be like this."

"Like what?" He sounded lighthearted, even chuckling.

"Being so biased and unfair. I really didn't handle things thoroughly enough."

"What wasn't thorough enough? If you'd coldly watched your classmate get deceived, you wouldn't be the Nie Xiguang I know."

"I didn't consider many things... whether it might involve you, and Sheng Xingjie didn't just deceive Ye Rong, he actually deceived another girl too..."

"Xiguang." Lin Yusen suddenly interrupted me seriously.

I stopped.

Lin Yusen said, "The one who made mistakes is Sheng Xingjie. Why are you demanding perfection from yourself?"

I held my breath, then exhaled softly after a long pause, my eyes growing moist. "Lin Yusen."

"I'm here."

I want to see you. I want to see you right now.

I said in my heart.

After a long pause, I made a wish to him: "Sheng Xingjie will face consequences, right?"

"He will."

"Can they be serious consequences?"

"The Zhou family has deep connections. They only have one daughter in this generation, treasured like gold. The Sheng family will have to give them an explanation." Lin Yusen analyzed calmly. "Actually, my grandfather probably knew about Sheng Xingjie's behavior. He doesn't care about such things, but he would care about how Sheng Xingjie handles them."

And Sheng Xingjie clearly wasn't qualified—I understood Lin Yusen's unspoken implication.

"I'll contribute some effort." Lin Yusen's tone suddenly turned stern. "He's really gotten carried away, recklessly lashing out like this."

"Ah?" I was startled, unsure how to respond. "...Then be careful?"

He suddenly laughed again, his voice instantly softening. "Alright, I'll definitely be careful."The phone line buzzed with background noise, and Lin Yusen seemed to cover the receiver as he said "right away" to someone else.

"Are you busy?"

"It's a break during a meeting."

"Then you should go back to your meeting."

"Mm, I'll fly to Shanghai after it's over."

I was surprised. "You solved it that quickly?"

"No, I'll take the first flight back tomorrow morning."

That wouldn't do! I quickly stopped him. "No, no, I'm fine now. Finish your business before coming back."

Lin Yusen didn't respond, so I emphasized, "Don't you dare come running back, you hear me?"

He was silent for a long moment, as if weighing his options, before finally saying, "Got it. I'll call you tonight. How about I give you a task?"

He seemed to be walking while talking. "Think about where we should go for May Day vacation when you have time? Didn't you say last month you covered a colleague's month-end closing and could take leave this month?"

"Yes, yes! I'll think about it right away. Just don't come rushing back, okay?" I repeatedly emphasized before saying, "Go back to work now. I'm hanging up."

I ended the call first and checked the duration—less than ten minutes. Surprisingly short, yet my mood had completely turned around.

I pulled myself together, planning to find something to do like cleaning the house. But just as I found a rag, Dad called. My heart skipped a beat—had the Sheng family finally come knocking? Answering the call confirmed it.

However, his tone was unusually cautious. "Xiguang, there's something I need to check with you."

I responded with an "Mm," and he continued, "Sheng Bokai called me, saying you took some photos to Old Master Sheng to complain about Sheng Xingjie. Of course, I completely trust you, so I want to know if there's some misunderstanding here?"

After a few seconds of thought, I asked, "What photos?"

He explained in detail. Not bothering to feign anger or surprise, I cut straight to the point: "His ex-girlfriend was my roommate, and we never got along. I have no idea what they're up to—it has nothing to do with me."

Dad audibly relaxed. "Good, good. It's best not to get involved in this. Old Master Sheng was so upset he was hospitalized. The less we have to do with it, the better. I'll clarify when I visit him later."

"Grandpa Sheng was hospitalized?" My heart clenched. "Is it serious?"

"Judging by Sheng Bokai's tone, probably not. Likely just putting on a show for the Zhou family. If it's real, it's probably from frustration over having no worthy successor." Dad couldn't resist adding that jab.

After hanging up, I immediately messaged Lin Yusen about Old Master Sheng's hospitalization. About ten minutes later, his reply came: "Just checked with Grandfather's doctor—nothing serious, just needs rest. Don't overthink it."

Matching Dad's assessment, I finally relaxed. Though Lin Yusen had convinced me not to shoulder blame unnecessarily, I'd still feel uneasy if something serious had happened to the old man.

Putting away my phone, I lost all motivation for chores. Sitting on the sofa, scattered thoughts drifted through my mind—where to go for May Day, what to note during tomorrow's joint research center discussion...

Amidst the aimless musing, one thought suddenly struck me.

My heart leapt, and I stood up abruptly. Pacing by the sofa, the idea seemed more feasible the longer I considered it. Without hesitation, I quickly dialed Dad back.As soon as the call connected, I asked, "Dad, you haven’t gone to the hospital yet, have you? When are you going? I’m also in Shanghai—let’s visit Grandpa Sheng together."

Dad was overjoyed to hear I wanted to accompany him to visit Old Master Sheng and immediately offered to send a car for me.

"No need, I’ll just take a taxi there now." Seizing the opportunity, I made another request, "Can we invite Uncle Sheng along when we visit?"

Dad was puzzled, "Why invite him?"

"If there’s a misunderstanding, it should be cleared up face-to-face. How can I just let him wrong me like this?" I emphasized the last few words.

So, a little after five in the afternoon, when we arrived at a certain hospital in Shanghai to visit Old Master Sheng, I was with President Nie and Sheng Bokai. Dad probably hadn’t had the chance to explain anything to Sheng Bokai yet, as he treated us with extreme coldness, his face dark from the hospital entrance all the way to the ward.

In the ward, Old Master Sheng looked quite well, sitting on the bed reading a newspaper. When he saw us, he ignored Sheng Bokai and only greeted us, "Xiao Nie, Xiguang, what brings you here? Have a seat."

After placing the gifts and exchanging a few words about his condition, we sat down on the sofa. Old Master Sheng asked me, "Yusen called earlier, saying he’s away on a business trip. Xiguang, aren’t you working in Suzhou? What brings you here?"

"Yusen was still worried, and since Dad was coming to visit you, he asked me to come along first."

A faint smile of relief appeared on Old Master Sheng’s face. "Now you’ve seen for yourself—I’m perfectly fine. Tell him not to worry needlessly."

"Of course we’re worried. And," I paused before continuing, "Dad called me this afternoon and said you’d misunderstood us, so I had to come even more."

"Misunderstood? What misunderstanding?" Old Master Sheng remained expressionless.

I deliberately spoke in a somewhat flustered manner: "Last time, at my classmate’s birthday party—Rongrong, Ye Rong was there too—I found out she was dating Sheng Xingjie. I was really happy and told Yusen afterward, saying we’d soon be relatives through our classmates. But then Dad told me today that someone sent an email with photos to your inbox, accusing Sheng Xingjie of two-timing, and claiming I was the one who sent it. I was stunned—I have no idea what’s going on. I would never do something like that."

"So you didn’t take the photos? You didn’t write the email?" Sheng Bokai pressed aggressively.

"Of course not! How would I even get those photos? I don’t even know your email address, Grandpa Sheng. And I’ve been in Suzhou—how would I know what shady things Sheng Xingjie has been up to?"

Sheng Bokai’s expression darkened further, but I was even angrier. Turning to Old Master Sheng, I said, "Grandpa Sheng, does your company’s IT department not work? Can’t they trace who actually sent it? How could this be pinned on me? Sheng Xingjie is so detestable—who knows how many people can’t stand him."

Dad coughed lightly, "Xiguang."

I reined myself in slightly but still wore an indignant expression. "It could’ve been anyone around them who knew about their relationship. Why would Yusen and I do this? We’ve even moved all the way to Suzhou. No—Uncle Sheng, you owe me an explanation today. I won’t take this false accusation lying down."

Sheng Bokai clearly hadn’t expected me to turn the tables on him and was momentarily speechless.I looked at Grandpa Sheng and said with grievance, "Grandpa Sheng, there's actually something we've been keeping from you. When I first started handling company affairs, I discovered a highly unreasonable contract. Two years ago when the market was showing a downward trend, the company actually signed a six-year fixed-price and fixed-quantity contract for auxiliary materials with a huge total amount. I asked Yusen if there was any way to terminate it, but he said the company was run by Uncle's younger brother and we couldn't touch it, so we just accepted it. That's why Yusen has always been very concerned about maintaining good relations with Uncle Sheng's side. We didn't even mention such a major issue and quietly accepted it—how could we possibly use gossip to make trouble?"

Grandpa Sheng's expression immediately changed. "What's this contract about?"

My heart leaped with excitement—the old man really knew how to focus on the key issue.

On the way here, I'd been silently analyzing Grandpa Sheng's personality. Twenty years ago, he'd exiled his own son-in-law who was like his right arm to a foreign country—he must be suspicious and autocratic by nature and definitely wouldn't tolerate any under-the-table profit transfers.

From his perspective, if we hadn't even played our biggest card involving Sheng Bokai's profit transfers, we certainly wouldn't make an issue of Sheng Xingjie's personal misconduct.

This was the most powerful evidence proving I hadn't sent that email.

As for the contract matter, it wasn't that we didn't want to mention it before. But Lin Yusen, being closely tied to the Sheng family and having just acquired shares, had legitimate concerns about bringing it up.

For me as a stakeholder—young, just starting out in business, and feeling wronged—it was perfectly reasonable to speak out recklessly. Moreover, I said it right in front of Sheng Bokai, not behind his back, so it was aboveboard and beyond reproach.

I breathed a long sigh of relief in my heart.

That contract should be completely resolved now.

Later, when Lin Yusen tells his grandfather about his decision to return to medical practice, relations with Sheng Bokai's side can be eased again.

Of course, that's something he'll have to say himself.