"Even if I were to marry someone properly, so what? To be touched by him for decades, to be given three to five thousand yuan a month, and still have to serve him like a master. It's better to go out and entertain clients; at least the real money goes into my own pocket."
"Don't pity me. How many years have I been in society? What kind of men haven't I met? I'm long past caring."
Tang Haichao and she were both old hands who had been battered by society for over a decade, possessing stronger psychological resilience than ordinary people.
Hearing her say this, he found it difficult to say more.
Xiang Wan snatched the cigarette, took the last puff, and looked out the window, concluding her thoughts.
"What about liking or disliking, it's all nonsense in the face of survival. Without a good father, you don't deserve to talk about disliking."
"Starting today, I will officially begin my struggle. Bring out all your potential clients, and we'll visit them one by one."
"By the time my daughter turns one, I hope we'll be living in our own house. I absolutely refuse to rent anymore."
Once a woman lets go of romance, her mind is filled with career, and when she's willing to go all out, she's very close to success.
With the joint efforts of Xiang Wan and Tang Haichao, in the following two months, the two of them secured eight more deals, big and small.
The company established dedicated departments for Human Resources, Design, Finance, Logistics, and a Creative Planning team, and added four more construction crews.
The scale was expanding daily, and new recruits were being hired constantly.
The company grew from its initial ten people to over fifty.
To facilitate meeting clients and discussing business, Xiang Wan used two months' salary to buy herself a red Audi A5.
Time flew by to May, and the child was also five months old.
It coincided with the plum rain season, and Hangcheng experienced continuous rain for over half a month without stopping. Even the usually robust Niannian fell ill.
It started as a cold. After three days of medication with no improvement, they went for a follow-up at a clinic. The doctor said she had a bronchial infection and was showing signs of developing pneumonia, advising them to go to a children's hospital.
It wasn't that Xiang Wan was unwilling to spend money or take her child to a proper large hospital, but rather that the child had been born without a birth certificate, making visits to formal hospitals more complicated.
She had been postponing the matter of obtaining the birth certificate due to her busy work schedule, but now she could no longer delay.
Mentioning the birth certificate gave Xiang Wan a headache.
She had heard that when a child is born, as long as the parents can provide a marriage certificate, the hospital must issue one unconditionally.
But she had given birth out of wedlock...
Now, she had to get a DNA paternity test to prove that Niannian was her daughter before she could go to the hospital to obtain the birth certificate.
The paternity test was easy; Niannian was indeed her biological child. The trouble lay with the hospital.
The private clinic where she had given birth did not have the qualifications to issue birth certificates.
There was no other way, so Xiang Wan had to seek out Director Qian, whom she had dealt with before.
He was a department head in the hospital, so handling such a small matter should have been easy for him.
However, if he knew she already had a daughter and had a man by her side, he might make even more unreasonable demands.
But what else could she do?
In the medical system, he was the only person she knew. She would have to brace herself and go through with it.
She would deal with future problems later.
They met in his studio. Xiang Wan explained her purpose, and Director Qian smiled lecherously.
"I didn't realize, Miss Xiang, that you have such a good figure and maintain such a youthful appearance, yet you've already had a child."
"You know, why were you so foolish? That man didn't treat you well, so why did you give him a child so devotedly?"
Xiang Wan could only force a smile.
"If all the men in the world were as gentle and considerate as Brother Qian, there wouldn't be so many heartbroken people."
"Yes, there aren't many people in the world who understand how to cherish a woman like me. For someone as beautiful as you to have her heart broken, they must be blind."
He placed his hand on Xiang Wan's again.
"However, it's working hours now, and it's not convenient for me to handle personal matters. How about after work? Brother Qian will treat you to dinner tonight, and I'll properly comfort you, this heartbroken person."
Xiang Wan's nose twitched, and her large, tear-filled eyes welled up: "Thank you, Brother Qian."
"It's just that the child is very ill, and as a mother, my heart is truly anxious. If Brother Qian truly cares about me, please help me with the paperwork first. Then we'll have the mood to chat properly tonight."
"I'm a woman, traveling thousands of miles with my child to survive in a foreign land... sob..."
She choked back a sob.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Brother Qian understands you, why are you crying?"
"Alright, alright, I'll get it done for you. Take the paperwork and take the child to see the doctor first. We'll talk about our matters tonight."
Xiang Wan successfully obtained the birth certificate.
She was so anxious that her feet seemed to fly, wishing she could rush back immediately to bring the child to the hospital.
As she walked, she called her grandmother, asking her to take Niannian to the elevator.
In her haste, she bumped into the arm of a woman coming towards her.
It was just a slight bump, but the other person cried out as if she had suffered a great injury and was supported by the man beside her.
Xiang Wan didn't have time to look back at her. She quickly apologized and hurried down the steps, rushing into the light rain.
Watching her retreating figure, her long, wavy hair flying in the wind, her slender high heels, and the elegantly curved hem of her long skirt, Lu Mingzhe paused.
Was he hallucinating?
Why did the woman running into the rain look so much like Xiang Wan?
Before he could think further, Fang Shuya angrily tugged at him.
"What are you looking at? Someone bumped into me and almost twisted my ankle, and you're not even comforting me. It hurts so much."
Lu Mingzhe snapped back to reality and looked at his soft and delicate wife in his arms.
She was frowning and looking down at her slender calf. He followed her gaze.
"Did you twist your ankle?"
"No, thankfully I have you by my side."
Fang Shuya, who had been scolding him a moment ago, now smiled and sweetly linked her arm with his.
"You said you'd take me on a honeymoon, but instead, we came here to help your brother look at houses and find doctors. You're such a liar~"
Lu Mingzhe patted her hand comfortingly and continued to lead her forward.
"He's my own brother. It's the first time in his life he's asked me for a favor, so how could I not take it seriously?"
"He was just joking with you and didn't really blame you. Aren't I here with you? I'm just being a little spoiled. I've realized you're not humorous at all, you don't understand romance, you're a complete straight man."
Not humorous, doesn't understand romance.
Lu Mingzhe listened to his wife's evaluation, feeling a sense of emptiness.
He never expected that one day a woman would describe him with such words.
This tumor hospital in Hangcheng was quite famous. There was an old professor, over seventy years old, who had retired but was rehired, renowned both domestically and internationally for treating breast diseases.
Since Mai Ledi didn't want surgery, Lu Mingzhe had come to inquire if traditional methods could be used for treatment.
After chatting with the old professor all afternoon and hearing many case studies, he left.