Chapter 7 So It Was Really Lin Jue

• Shen Peibai was in a deep slumber the next day as she had caught a cold on the chilly night before when she came home completely wasted. Wang Yuzhen did not go for her usual Mahjong session, for she had to look after Shen Peibai.
• It was eleven o’clock in the morning when Chen Xi, the sales manager, and Wang Sisi, the public relations manager, called upon the Shen’s. They did not come empty-handed. Wang Yuzhen received them warmly and served them tea. She was nice to them as they were not only subordinates to her daughter, but also her daughter’s close friends.
• “Mrs. Shen, is Peibai feeling better now? We’re worried about her...” sounding concerned, Wang Sisi asked Wang Yuzhen.
• “Thanks for asking, Sisi. She’s had just taken her medication. She’s got a bad cold and is taking a nap now. It’s not a big thing, but it’ll probably take a few days for her to get well...”
• Wang Sisi frowned upon hearing the situation and anxiety started to show on her face. Last night, she had tried calling Shen Peibai but to no avail. She would not have wanted to bother Shen Peibai but for the dire situation that the company had been in she had no choice. She bit her lip, mustered up courage and said, “Mrs. Shen, I know we shouldn’t bother Peibai when she’s ill. But the company is faced with its greatest challenge yet… Since Jiuzhou Group had announced the commercial breakup, news has spread like wildfire. Just from last night until this morning, those other companies who had been working with us had followed Jiuzhou Group’s footsteps in cutting ties with us. We are so screwed now…”
• “No… tell me this is not true! Even if Jiuzhou Group has cut ties with us, what about the connections and network we have built over the years? Surely we can do without Jiuzhou Group?”
• Wang Sisi said nothing but closed her eyes, struggling internally with emotions. Chen Xi answered to her, “Mrs. Wang, you don’t seem to understand the situation. After Jiuzhou Group announced the news, those other small companies have followed suit only to please Jiuzhou Group. They can’t wait to rub salt into our wound.”
• Wang Yuzhen’s heart sank and her face grimaced in the pain of realization. After all, she was smart enough to piece together everything and realize why things had gone south all of a sudden. It was crystal clear by now that Lin Jue had something, no, everything to do with this! Especially for the fact that the Shen’s had rose to being the new business magnets in Nanjiang City right after they had clinched the deal with Jiuzhou Group, which Lin Jue had said he had got some connections in. And as soon as Lin Jue had been divorced and driven out of her family, Jiuzhou Group had retaliated by closing all books on all co-operations with the Shen’s immediately.
• How could all this be a mere coincidence?
• Wang Yuzhen was overwhelmed by the shock of such realization.
• Sensing that Wang Yuzhen had grasped something from her countenance, Wang Sisi asked eagerly, “Mrs. Wang, you look like you know something! What is it?”
• Oh no!
• Realizing her earlier reaction had given away too much, she immediately refuted, “No, it’s uh… It’s nothing. I don’t know anything!” She did so too earnestly.
• Chen Xi was intrigued by Wang Yuzhen’s reaction.
• “Come on, Mrs. Wang. Do you want to see Peibai’s company go bust like that? She has spent most of her life building it from scratch!” she probed urgently.
• Taking her colleague’s cue, Wang Sisi prodded, “Mrs. Wang, come on. Tell us the truth already! It’s not about us worrying about our jobs! It’s Peibai. Do you want to see her go to jail for defaulting on the debts to the suppliers?!”
• Wang Yuzhen’s face turned white on hearing the analysis of her daughter’s possible fate.
• Just as Wang Yuzhen was about to give in, a voice interjected from somewhere, “It was Lin Jue. It was him who helped us to get the deal. He was the one who had asked me to go personally to the negotiations with Jiuzhou Group.” It was Shen Peibai in her sleeping gown. Looking weak, she stood slouching against the door frame to her bedroom as she clarified the situation for her visitors.
• “Lin Jue?” said Wang Sisi and Chen Xi, who were now musing at the new information.
• Wang Sisi was the first to react, “But, Peibai… Wasn’t he just a guy who had married into your family? How would he know anyone from Jiuzhou Group?”
• “I don’t know…” Shen Peibai shook her head and said, “I’ve never asked much about him since he moved into our family. And he didn’t look like one who would pretend to be someone he was not…”
• Chen Xi chimed in, “If it wasn’t Lin Jue, then we’d have to find a way. But if it was him, then it would be so much easier, wouldn’t it? Just have him go talk to his friend again. Or, get his friend to help rekindle the relationship between Jiuzhou Group and us!”
• “Yes, that’s right! Oh yes, where is Lin Jue by the way, Mrs. Shen? Please ask him to come join us for discussion…” Wang Sisi concurred.
• Wang Yuzhen grimaced at the mention of Lin Jue’s name as she stuttered, “That scrounger… Uh, he… uh…”
• “What is it, Mrs. Shen? What’s happened to Lin Jue?” asked Wang Sisi with her brows furrowed.
• “He, uh, he had divorced Peibai. Just yesterday...” Wang Yuzhen revealed the truth and her face was drained of color.
• “He what?! Divorce?!” Chen Xi, being the tactless one, leapt to her feet. Her gaze was now fixated on Wang Yuzhen.
• “He divorced Shen Peibai? How could a matrilocal husband do that?” asked Wang Sisi incredulously.
• “I don’t think it was Lin Jue’s intention to divorce Peibai…” snorted Chen Xi in a way that matched her fiery reputation as she continued, “Hmm… Mrs. Shen, this doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Lin Jue had just left your family in a sudden, and then, without any forebodings, Jiuzhou Group cut ties with us as soon as he did. And Peibai just said it was Lin Jue who got his friend to pull the strings so Peibai could close the deal with them. Apparently, the friend that Lin Jue mentioned must be someone powerful within the Group. Lin Jue wouldn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t, right?”
• Despite her fiery temperament, Chen Xi had a kind heart. Even though she was Shen Peibai’s friend, she did not find Shen Peibai’s mother to her liking at all. She knew how evil-hearted this woman was, and she was almost certain it was Wang Yuzhen who had caused all these predicaments.
• Indeed, Chen Xi knew that the problem between Lin Jue and the Shen’s had nothing to with her, let alone personal matters between him and Shen Peibai such as divorce. However, when it came to the interest of the company, she had every right to blame Wang Yuzhen for the trouble, because Chen Xi was one of the shareholders of the company! Not to mention that Lin Jue was the only one now who could help her floundering company.
• “It must be a coincidence… After all, he’s nothing but a matrilocal son-in-law. If he was so rich and influential, why would he choose to marry into our family? Not to mention the humiliation he had to suffer all this time. Would any man have put up with that knowing the prospect of a matrilocal husband?”
• Chen Xi could not dismiss Wang Yuzhen’s analysis either. Even though Wang Yuzhen was known to be miserly and mean, she was no idiot. What Wang Yuzhen said added up. If Lin Jue had been wealthy and powerful, why would he marry into the Shen’s? Chen Xi could not find any reason other than coincidence to explain this puzzle.
• As she mulled over her mother’s reasoning, something her best friend, Gu Ling had said the day before flashed across her mind, It has to be love…
• If she was to find an alternative explanation as to why a rich and influential man would marry into her family despite the grim prospect, it must be because he loved her.
• Her heart jerked as she mulled over the alternative explanation. If this was the real reason and that Lin Jue was really a wealthy and influential man, yet he had been willing to endure a year’s long humiliation… Wasn’t it so stupid of her to let him go?
• Taking a deep breath, Chen Xi said calmly, “Alright, no point doing guesswork, right? Would it help to solve our problems? Listen, Mrs. Shen, for the sake of the company, for the sake of Peibai, we need you to go and see Lin Jue and find out if he was behind all this. We’ll take care of Peibai for you.”