Xiang Wan felt a little embarrassed, asking Zhou Jinbei to go back with them, but Zhou Jinbei insisted on staying.
Only the two of them were left in the ward, and she apologized to Xiang Wan.
"I need to confess something to you, Miss Xiang."
"Did Lu Mingzhe's mother look for you recently? She must have said some unpleasant things. I gave her your contact information."
Xiang Wan was a little surprised, after all, she wasn't familiar with Zhou Jinbei, so how could she have her contact information?
Zhou Jinbei confessed.
"As you know, I'm good friends with Lu Mingzhe's ex-wife. I didn't understand your situation before and thought you ruined her marriage, so I had an opinion of you."
"I deliberately had someone inquire and then gave your contact information to Aunt Lu, so she could cause trouble for you."
"But last night, Lu Qingxu said a lot... I'm sorry."
"I myself hate it when my relationship is interfered with by my parents, especially being criticized by the man's parents. Yet, I imposed such an embarrassing situation on you. I regret it."
Xiang Wan knew she hadn't been entirely blameless herself. They didn't understand each other before, and it was understandable for someone to stand up for their friend.
Moreover, she had helped her last night.
And now she was confessing voluntarily, showing she was a girl who dared to do and dare to admit.
"It's nothing. If it were me, hearing that a friend was in such a situation, I would also say a few words for her. You don't need to apologize."
"The reason we have conflict is because there were inherent problems. It has nothing to do with you. What's meant to be will happen eventually."
Seeing that she didn't blame her, Zhou Jinbei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry too much. Brother Mingzhe is wholeheartedly devoted to you."
"Aunt Lu is not an unreasonable person, it's just that there's a misunderstanding now. Once things are cleared up, I believe she will accept you."
"Besides, you have their child."
Hearing comforting words at a time like this warmed Xiang Wan's heart.
"Thank you."
Zhou Jinbei's words were very sweet.
"You're welcome. You're so beautiful and have a great personality. If you don't mind, let's be friends from now on."
For a young lady of high status to humble herself and offer friendship, Xiang Wan had no reason to refuse.
"Of course. You are also very beautiful, and I like you very much. What do you do for work?"
Speaking of this, Zhou Jinbei sighed.
She said she was just a small assistant at Zhan Bei Jue's company.
"Unlike you, Jiao Jiao, and Sister Nan Fang, you are all career-oriented strong women."
"You've made a name for yourselves through your own efforts."
"How dare I compare myself to them?"
Xiang Wan smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Lu Mingzhe mentioned that Mrs. Zhan is a very capable woman."
Zhou Jinbei nodded.
"Yes, not only is her work ability superb, but she's also beautiful, has high emotional intelligence, and gave my second brother four children."
"In this world, besides her, I doubt anyone else is worthy of my second brother."
"The key is that she's very independent and has never relied on my second brother. She used to run a company abroad, and now she's back managing her own electrical company."
"She's even developed high-tech products that even my second brother couldn't develop. She's extraordinarily strong."
"Alas, if only I had a tenth of her capabilities."
Xiang Wan comforted her, "You're not bad either. You're beautiful, eloquent, and have high emotional intelligence. You'll definitely get better and better in the future."
But in her heart, she felt deeply inadequate.
She was older than Jiang Nan Fang, her career was a mess, while the other woman had both love and career.
Comparing oneself to others was infuriating.
The key was that the other woman didn't rely on men. Thinking about her own mess made her blush.
The two felt like old friends meeting for the first time, chatting enthusiastically.
Soon, the sky began to show the first light of dawn.
Zhou Jinbei, having stayed up all night, was extremely sleepy and fell asleep on the nearby companion bed.
Xiang Wan was contemplating her studio matters alone, lying on the bed and scrolling through her phone, with no sleepiness at all.
She lay there until six in the morning, then tried calling Lu Mingzhe again, but it was still out of reach.
Just as she was worrying about what to do, Tang Haichao called.
"Miss Xiang, where are you now?"
He was up so early?
Did he have something to ask her?
Xiang Wan didn't say where she was, but asked him what was going on.
Tang Haichao said, "Did something happen on your end?"
"I came to work early this morning and saw your factory was sealed off, with many workers gathered at the entrance causing a disturbance."
"I inquired and found out that the factory leaders had absconded. You don't know about this, do you?"
Even he knew something had happened.
Xiang Wan sighed and told him about yesterday's events.
Tang Haichao sympathized with her worry.
"You've invested over 3 million in total, and what's worse, it will delay your delivery schedule. This is a big trouble now."
"Yes."
Xiang Wan didn't hide it from him.
"I can't take out a single cent now. To start over with an order of over a hundred thousand, I really don't know what to do."
Tang Haichao paused on the other end, seemingly hesitating whether to speak.
"What did your boyfriend say?"
He probably felt his question was a bit intrusive, and he asked it very cautiously. Xiang Wan could hear his carefulness.
She told him the truth.
"I don't know yet. He's on a business trip out of town, and I haven't told him."
"Then aren't you going to tell him?"
"The fire incident already made him cover millions for me, and his family still can't accept me. To be honest, I'm too embarrassed to mention it to him."
Tang Haichao expressed his understanding.
"People like us, we'd rather suffer than lose face. We have too much pride. That's why my ex-wife divorced me."
"Back then, his parents looked down on me in every way, and I stubbornly held on, determined to prove myself. I understand how you feel."
"But," he continued.
"Being too strong isn't good either. You have to be flexible when you need to be. You can't just lose the career you've worked so hard to build."
Xiang Wan thought for a moment and asked him.
Was it possible to apply for a loan on the house she had just bought, which was still being paid off?
If so, she planned to go all out and borrow again.
Tang Haichao paused for a few more seconds on the other end.
"How about this, let's find a place to meet and talk. It's hard to explain everything over the phone."
Since she couldn't sleep anyway and was just lying there anxiously, Xiang Wan agreed.
Without waking Zhou Jinbei, she informed the nurse and discharged herself from the hospital.
Unexpectedly, when they met and had just sat down, Tang Haichao directly pushed a card towards her.
"I have some money here. I don't need it urgently anyway, so don't take out a loan. Take this for now to tide you over."
Xiang Wan naively thought he had called her out just to discuss the loan, but this...
"Mr. Tang..."
"Don't rush to thank me yet. It's not much, 2.6 million."
Tang Haichao interrupted her.
"I originally planned to buy a house for my parents in our hometown, but they are used to living in the countryside and never let me buy one."
"Since I don't need it at the moment, just take it and use it."
Even though he said that, Xiang Wan still felt embarrassed.
She had already borrowed 2 million from him for her house. Even if he didn't need it, Xiang Wan felt awkward taking more.
"No, no, no, Mr. Tang..."