The next morning.
Jiang Senlin woke up very early, kicking Jiang Ye's face with his little feet.
"You stinky brat!" Jiang Ye woke up, grabbed his little feet and sniffed them, "So smelly!"
"Dad hungry." Jiang Senlin said, "Dad hungry, Dad hungry."
"You should say, 'Dad, I'm hungry,' not 'Dad hungry.'" Jiang Ye said, "I'm not hungry."
"Dad hungry, Dad hungry, Dad hungry." Jiang Senlin kicked his legs hard.
"Naughty child." Jiang Ye smiled, picked him up, got out of bed, and went to the kitchen.
Whole wheat bread slices, soft-boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts, egg tarts, a small plate of pan-fried tofu, milk chocolate – this was the breakfast Jiang Ye prepared for his son. Simple, but nutritious enough. Finally, he added a glass of mixed fruit and vegetable juice.
Jiang Senlin had a good appetite and started eating heartily with his hands.
The sound of slippers approaching, Cen Yemeng came in.
Jiang Ye knew at a glance that she hadn't slept all night.
"Come here, come here, I want to talk to you, then I'm going to sleep," Cen Yemeng said.
Jiang Ye followed her out of the kitchen and they whispered by the stairs.
"Old Yi fell ill and needs to stay at our place for a few days. I'll take care of her," Cen Yemeng said.
"How did she fall ill out of the blue? Take her to the hospital!" Jiang Ye was surprised.
"It's a heart ailment. She's too distressed, her immunity dropped, and she caught a cold," Cen Yemeng explained. "I'll stay with her, counsel her, and help her feel a bit better. Last night, she held me like a baby."
"What exactly happened?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Her relationship with her husband broke down. She suddenly realized that clinging to her husband all these years was the wrong choice, but it's irreversible. Her best youthful years were wasted. It feels like investing years of earnings into a furnace, only to suddenly wake up and realize what you've done," Cen Yemeng said. "This was just a trigger."
"A trigger?" Jiang Ye was stunned. "Triggered what?"
"All sorts of messy thoughts. Old Yi kept rambling and crying, telling me all night. You know, sometimes when people are in a bad mood, they recall a flood of bad memories, then they get sadder and sadder, so sad they want to jump off a building," Cen Yemeng said. "She also talked about you."
"About me?" Jiang Ye felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
Cen Yemeng glared at him and punched him twice.
Jiang Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief; Cen Yemeng's expression suggested she wasn't angry.
"What did she say?" Jiang Ye asked.
"She said she used to like you a lot, but you rejected her mercilessly," Cen Yemeng said. "After she went back, she felt very inferior. For a long time, every time she saw you and spoke to you, her inferiority complex worsened, but she had to pretend to be indifferent."
"Inferiority complex?" Jiang Ye was very surprised. He never expected the bold and decisive Isabel to have such thoughts.
"Yes, she felt inferior because of you. During that time, she often felt sad alone at home. She'd spend a whole night doing nothing but fantasizing about doing various things with you. She'd giggle to herself, then feel silly and put on a stern face, but she couldn't help but fall into new fantasies. After the fantasies ended, she'd feel even sadder, and then miss you even more, almost obsessively," Cen Yemeng said.
"Damn, this is the first time I've ever heard this," Jiang Ye said. "How could she tell you this? Did you get her drunk?"
"It's all in the past. She doesn't have feelings for you anymore. We're good friends, so what's wrong with talking about it?" Cen Yemeng yawned. "Anyway, that's pretty much it. Her emotions are very low right now, and her health is also not good. I'll take care of her."
"Okay, you work hard," Jiang Ye said. "I don't have any urgent work at the moment, I can handle everything at home. I'll take care of Senlin. You get some sleep, and comfort her. If you need to hire a psychologist, let me know."
"My husband, you're so good." Cen Yemeng hugged Jiang Ye and turned to go upstairs.
...
Jiang Ye thought Isabel would recover quickly.
However, to his surprise, after more than two days, she was still sickly staying in Cen Yemeng's bedroom.
Cen Yemeng's schedule was completely disrupted. She stayed up all night chatting with Isabel, and during the day, they were both like limp noodles.
Jiang Ye could only secretly chat with his wife when they had a moment.
The two acted like spies meeting, hiding under the stairs, avoiding Jiang Senlin who was eating and Isabel upstairs, speaking in hushed whispers.
"She's now considering divorce," Cen Yemeng said.
"Divorce?" Jiang Ye was shocked. "Just a few days ago, she was helping her husband find a job."
"That's why she's so miserable. She's been crying all night these past few days. She feels that if she doesn't divorce, it's meaningless, and if she does divorce, it's also meaningless. If she doesn't divorce, she doesn't know how to live in the future; if she divorces, she also doesn't know how to live," Cen Yemeng frowned. "Oh dear, this is difficult, my head hurts. Such a big matter, I can't give her any advice, only listen."
"You've worked hard," Jiang Ye stroked her head.
"So annoying, I still want to have a child, and I haven't had time these past few days," Cen Yemeng pinched Jiang Ye's butt and turned to go upstairs.
...
Another two days passed.
Jiang Ye woke up early and met Isabel in the hallway.
Her complexion was still haggard, but she had changed into sportswear and tied up her hair neatly.
"Jiang Ye, I want to leave for a while," she said.
"Leave?" Jiang Ye was stunned. "Where to?"
"To go on vacation to an alien planet," Isabel said. "I have friends in the military on other planets. I've already contacted them and will go visit them."
"That's great. Go out, relax, and have fun. It's boring to just make money all the time," Jiang Ye said. "If you have someone in mind for the logistics city, just hand it over. If not, I'll arrange someone. Pack your bags and go have a happy trip."
"Let Ju Lanlan manage it. She's been helping me all along. Most of the big deals are negotiated by her, and she's been handling things these past few days. You can send a few people to help her," Isabel said.
"Okay, don't worry, the logistics city will definitely run smoothly until you return from your trip," Jiang Ye thought for a moment. "There's still a war going on outside, and you haven't been to an alien planet in years, so you don't know the current situation. I'll send a few female officers to be your guard. It'll be helpful when you're out."
Isabel hesitated, "Alright, I'll trouble you."
Jiang Ye busied himself for another two days, selecting six female officers from the army and arranging for them to accompany Isabel on a public-funded vacation.
The logistics city was not directly handed over to Ju Lanlan. Jiang Ye took the opportunity to take over all the work.
He planned to re-plan the logistics city and try to improve and expand it.
But before Jiang Ye could figure out the situation of the logistics city, Li Nannan sent a message with the official document regarding the ownership of Birong Star.