The beautiful CEO falls in love with me
Chapter 612 - 593: Whitewashing

Chapter 612: Chapter 593: Whitewashing

"You’ve now become a cruel mafia godfather, a bare-naked capitalist!" Lin Xue’er huffed lightly and said, "So, you’ve completely forgotten your originally kind side. If it weren’t slightly provoked today, I’m afraid you would have long forgotten your roots!"

"Nonsense!" Ye Chen couldn’t contain his anger and glared at Lin Xue’er, saying, "What do you know!"

"Of course I don’t understand!" Lin Xue’er pouted her red lips. She and Ye Chen walked side by side towards the city center, and she hummed softly, "All I know is that people should have a conscience and as long as what you do can stand the test of your conscience, that’s fine. What you did today wasn’t wrong. It’s just, it feels very sudden to some people!"

"Ha ha!" Ye Chen suddenly looked up and laughed, "Isn’t it true that people live in this world for fame and wealth?"

"So you mean to say, you also have ulterior motives for doing this good deed?" Lin Xue’er hooked her lips.

"Exactly!" Ye Chen nodded and said, "For the end-of-year awards ceremony, the top ten outstanding young people of Jianghuai City, the excellent entrepreneurs of Jianghuai City, the philanthropists of Jianghuai City, the People’s Representatives of Jianghuai City, the CPPCC members of Jianghuai City..."

Sss...

Lin Xue’er suddenly gasped in surprise, looking at Ye Chen and asked, "Ye Chen, what... what are you planning to do?"

"Next year, I’ll be a completely legit figure, I’m going to be ’whitewashed’!" Ye Chen said with a smile to Lin Xue’er, "How about it? Isn’t it unbelievable?"

"More than unbelievable, it’s downright incredible!" Lin Xue’er stared at Ye Chen, then she let out a sigh and said, "Actually, I should have thought of it. Early in the morning, Director Zhao called me in a rush, asking me to get an interview with you within a certain period and to dig deep into your good deeds. That’s when I should have guessed something!"

"It’s not too late to know now!" Ye Chen took a deep breath and said, "I believe, with this new status, it should be more convenient to do anything in the future, right?"

"Yeah, it’ll be even easier for you to do bad things now!" Lin Xue’er smiled.

The two walked all the way to the city center, where Ye Chen dropped Lin Xue’er off at the TV station and then headed straight on, passing by Tianya Group. Ye Chen stood in front of the building for a long time, finally deciding to go up and see Xiao Ruo. However, the result was quite shocking to him.

Actually, from the start, Ye Chen should have been able to tell that something had happened. When he entered the lobby, Little Mei didn’t greet him with the usual enthusiasm. Instead, upon seeing him, she immediately hid behind the reception desk as if he was some unforgivable criminal.

As Ye Chen was wondering what was going on, out of the elevator came Milking Girl, holding a box of milk.

"Milking Girl, where are you going?" Ye Chen quickly called after her.

"Humph!" To his surprise, Milking Girl just snorted lightly and completely ignored Ye Chen as if he were transparent, then brushed past him. This left Ye Chen feeling quite astonished. Little Mei, who was usually very warm, ignored him; and now, Milking Girl, who always loved to spar with him, also refused to bicker with him.

Ye Chen was extremely surprised and, as he went through the company, he ran into several familiar employees one after another, each of them scoffing coldly upon seeing him.

"Yo, Vice President Ye is here?" An old woman with a relatively high position looked at Ye Chen with a smile and asked, "Are you here to take over Mr. Li’s position this time? Do we need to start calling you Mr. Ye now?"

"Let’s not talk about that, let’s hurry along!" A man immediately pulled the woman to move on, as if he was afraid of offending Ye Chen. The woman was not afraid of Ye Chen, but the man had to consider his own safety in life. Thus, he had to think things through clearly and hurriedly apologized to Ye Chen as he left, "Vice President Ye, I’m really sorry!"

Watching these company employees targeting him, Ye Chen was even more furious and said, "Damn it, what’s going on, did I offend someone?"

At that thought, Ye Chen rushed into the elevator in haste, planning to ask Li Ruo what he had done wrong to make them hate him so much. However, when he reached the twentieth floor, even Lin Ziwen ignored him and brushed past.

"Assistant Lin!" Ye Chen quickly called after Lin Ziwen.

"Hmm? Vice President Ye, is there something you need?" Lin Ziwen looked all business.

"I..." Suddenly, Ye Chen felt utterly helpless and powerless. He said silently, "Is Mr. Li in?"

"Why don’t you go in and see for yourself?" Lin Ziwen huffed and then disappeared into his own office. Ye Chen was taken aback. This bunch of bastards actually dared to be disrespectful to him, the Vice President. It was outright blasphemy.

Fuming, Ye Chen charged into Li Ruo’s office only to find it empty, not a soul in sight. He hurried to push open the door of the resting room, hoping to find Li Ruo, but he failed. Then he pushed open the door of the gym, still no sign of Xiao Ruo. This time, Ye Chen felt a sense of defeat engulfing his entire being.

"How could this be? Where is Xiao Ruo? Where has she gone?" Ye Chen looked around frantically, his eyes landing on a kraft envelope on the desk, on which were written several flamboyant characters: For Ye Chen’s eyes only!

A letter for him?! Ye Chen was momentarily dumbfounded. Who writes letters in this day and age? A phone call could easily communicate everything, so why leave behind a baffling letter. He hesitated for a moment and then rushed over to open the envelope, pulling out a white sheet of paper densely covered with elegant handwriting.

Ye Chen, I hope this letter finds you well, and perhaps you’re wondering why I left a letter and departed. Sorry, it’s because I couldn’t get over that hurdle in my heart. Do you know how long we’ve known each other? Do you know how long we’ve been in love? My dear, we met nine hundred and thirty-two days ago, and our love lasted seven hundred and seventy-three days. Since you took the first bullet for me at the opening of Jiangnan No.1 District; since you rushed to Xiangming Mountain to rescue me, braving the torrential floodwaters; since you blocked that bomb with your own body at the entrance of Jinsheng Hotel, I fell deeply in love with you.

I love everything about you; every move you make; everything you say; even the way you smoke.

I’m willing to give everything for you; to let you be surrounded by other lovers; to let you have multiple wives and concubines. I once convinced myself that you are a hero, an upright hero, a hero unattainable to any woman. Therefore, you are destined to be a flower surrounded by bees and butterflies.

Hearing about your wedding with Tongtong, my heart felt as if pierced by needles. I really wanted to attend and see your happiness together. But after struggling for days and suffering from sleepless nights, I decided to numb myself with work. Yet, I couldn’t bridge that psychological chasm in the end.

So, I chose to leave. My dear, don’t worry about me, I’m doing well. When I’m tired, when I weary, I will return. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am, after all, Chinese. No matter how wonderful the world outside is, I will still come back; no matter how outstanding other men are, they aren’t as handsome as you in my eyes.

My dear, don’t be sad when you read this. I will return, just not now. Maybe in a year, maybe two...

Best wishes.

With love, Li Ruo.

Reading the letter, Ye Chen’s heart felt as if it were crashing down around him. Through the lines, he could feel Li Ruo’s heartache, her pain of wanting to be the only one but having to share with others.

Tears streamed down Ye Chen’s face, blurring the ink on the paper and his heart. Would this wait really last one or two years? Or would it be for a lifetime? Ye Chen took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and said, "Xiao Ruo, I will wait for you, for a lifetime!"

It was a man’s vow, a lover’s promise. Perhaps this wait would span years.

Leaving Tianya Group, Ye Chen seemed like a different person, with a somber expression and a heart heavy as if weighed down by a stone. Lin Ziwen, upon seeing Ye Chen leave, quietly returned to Li Ruo’s office. When she saw the letter no longer on the desk, she breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Ye Chen had seen the letter Li Ruo left, the rest was up to fate.

"Alas, it’s hard to predict how things will turn out for them," Lin Ziwen lamented, shaking her head. From today on, she had to bear the immense pressure of Tianya Group alone. However, on the day Li Ruo left, she had also given Lin Ziwen a raise, promoting her from an assistant’s salary to a vice president’s compensation—a decent treatment for her.

Ye Chen wandered away in a daze, somehow finding himself at the Night Color Bar. Standing at the door, the two girls waved at him, "Mr. Ye, you’ve come?"

"Yes!" Ye Chen tried to smile, but his final expression was more pained than crying.

Seeing Ye Chen’s dejected silhouette, both girls were taken aback. One of them asked curiously, "Strange, why does Mr. Ye seem so down today? Did he encounter some trouble?"

"Must be," the other girl nodded.

"Sigh, who would have thought that such a cheerful guy like Mr. Ye could have troubles too!" The girl sighed and said, "I thought he was the type to never face insurmountable hurdles."

"Maybe it’s something serious!"

The two girls muttered behind Ye Chen’s back.