Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 451 - 435: The General Manager, Director Xia?

Chapter 451: Chapter 435: The General Manager, Director Xia?

The hallway was not spacious, walking two abreast felt crowded, and to add to that, it was cluttered with all sorts of miscellaneous items. Each floor was very dark, not even a hallway light was in sight.

"It’s a bit dark, Mom and Dad, walk slower." Gu Feng, familiar with the path, led the way, lighting the path with his phone behind him for his parents. Given how easily he navigated, it was clear he’d been through here numerous times.

Xia Na and Gu Tianming followed side by side, rendered speechless by their son’s idea of "testing" a girl, which resulted in having her live in such an environment. Xia Na had not refrained from jabbing at him with a few pointed words before he apologized.

Now, Xia Na just felt like crying, suddenly overwhelmed by a sour feeling in her heart—her son was also a victim, having suffered tremendous psychological trauma in the past. Otherwise, why would he become so extreme as to believe that there were no good girls left in the world?

Therefore, Xia Na wasn’t just unable to speak, she even secretly reached up to wipe her eyes.

Seeing her action, Gu Tianming silently reached out his arm to embrace her, tightening his grip momentarily before letting go.

Xia Na turned her head toward Gu Tianming and smiled, feeling a bitter sweetness in her heart. Her son was truly starting to understand. Just by the fact that Ye Man could help her son step out of his past shadows, Xia Na had decided that even if she found something unsatisfactory about the girl, she would turn a blind eye and pretend to be pleased.

At the very least, the willingness to live in such a place with "orphan" Gu Feng showed that she was not the kind of girl who only had eyes for money, right?

But the name Ye Man—why did it seem so familiar?

Upon reflecting, Xia Na quickly remembered: in the Lu Family secretarial office, there was also a girl with deep tenure, having joined the company right after graduating, who shared that name.

She remembered the girl because her own secretary was due for a promotion and had recommended Ye Man to her—apparently, she was particularly diligent and responsible, as well as intelligent and composed, unlike some other secretaries who were vain, pretentious, and liked to compare themselves.

It couldn’t be the same person, could it?

This thought flickered through her mind, and then Xia Na chuckled to herself. It was unlikely.

How could such coincidences happen in the world? Besides, she had seen that girl before. Though she had a pleasant demeanor, unfortunately, her looks were at best mediocre, definitely not up to her elder son’s aesthetic standards. Just considering Gu Feng’s former girlfriend made it clear that he had a taste for beauty.

This current one, judging by how anxious her son was, she didn’t need to guess to know the girl must be stunningly beautiful.

Ah, which man in this world isn’t attracted to beauty? Even Gu Tianming, when seeing a beautiful woman, wasn’t he prone to sneak a few extra glances when it wouldn’t upset her? Humph, he thought he hid it well, as if she didn’t know.

She let it go because she saw that it was purely "look but don’t touch."

After all, she herself was no less attractive, and with years of living comfortably and being well-cared for—not to mention her regular use of the far more effective beauty products provided privately by Xiaoyun, compared to what was sold in stores—her younger son even complimented her on looking frighteningly young, not at all inferior to those fresh-faced young girls out there.

Thinking of her younger son, who always had a honeyed tongue, and her elder son, who was no longer obstinate, Xia Na’s lips curled into a smile. Even as she walked down this gloomy, cramped corridor, nothing could dampen her good mood.

--

"Old Ye, why do you think Gu Feng has been gone for so long? Should you go down and have a look? What if he got cold feet and ran off?" Ye Mother started to get restless as she suspiciously eyed the door, which remained unopened for far too long.

"That can’t be, can it? But even if he really did run off, there’s no use in me going down now, his shadow would be long gone by then." Ye Father, also worried, glanced toward the door, then back at the clock hanging in the living room, his face darkening.

"He won’t run away."

Upon hearing her parents’ conversation, Ye Man didn’t know why but suddenly found it very grating, barely able to endure even her own parents questioning Gu Feng, and couldn’t help but speak out to defend him.

Even though Gu Feng had told her such a huge lie and hid it for over three years, she didn’t know why she still insisted on believing in him, believing that he would take responsibility for her.

Maybe she was really too deeply infatuated.

Ye Man thought sadly and somewhat resignedly.

"How do you know? Men can be incredibly cruel, heartless, and ruthless. Besides, he’s been lying to you about something as big as his full name for years, even if he did run away, would you even know where his family lives? Do you have a place to find him?" Ye Man’s mother glared at her daughter with a look that was full of the frustration of "hating iron for not becoming steel."

"He won’t run away."

Ye Man sat on the couch with her head lowered, maintaining the same posture, stubbornly repeating this single sentence.

"How did I give birth to such a foolish daughter?" Ye Man’s mother stretched out her hand and fiercely poked Ye Man’s forehead.

"Don’t keep going on at her, do you want to call the doctor again?" Ye Man’s father also disapproved of his wife’s words: What’s this about men being heartless not being clear? Are women clear when they’re heartless?

He snorted in disdain, but he didn’t want to provoke her and start arguing at this time.

Thump thump!

Gu Tianming, Xia Na, and Gu Feng stood at the door, having already overheard the conversation of the family inside just now, which left them all feeling awkward. In order not to exacerbate the embarrassment on either side, Gu Tianming quickly knocked twice on the open door.

Ye Man’s father, mother, and Ye Man herself turned their heads towards the door and stood up at the same time.

"General Manager, Director Xia?"

Ye Man stared dumbfounded at the two people standing at the doorway, two individuals she was exceedingly familiar with and never expected to see here, her mouth agape and unable to close.

"Ye Man?"

Compared to Ye Man’s surprise, Xia Na was not outdone; her eldest son’s "Ye Man" turned out to be the unassuming Ye Man from the company’s confidential secretarial office—how could she not be astonished?

"Little Ye?" Gu Tianming also recognized Ye Man at a glance. The secretaries of the confidential secretarial office were extremely important, being one of the groups he, as the general manager of the company, came into most contact with. He didn’t claim to know each of them intimately, but he certainly wasn’t unfamiliar with them.

Moreover, this Ye Man in front of him had been there for several years, her seniority could definitely be considered significant.

Only Gu Feng was not at all surprised; he had long known everything about Ye Man, including which kindergarten she attended, the schools she went to during her study years, who her real close girlfriends were, and which ones were merely classmates and colleagues with whom she outwardly got along but inwardly disagreed...