Shen Xian swept a shared bicycle from the roadside and merged into the stream of people with her foot on the pedal.
In the early autumn of Beiji, the dusk breeze was the most comfortable, the evening wind blowing carelessly across her face, her black hair tumbling randomly.
Against the direction of the light, her shadow stretched very long…
Twenty minutes later, Shen Xian arrived outside a restaurant decorated in Jiangnan style.
She didn't go in, but stopped her bike at a distance and hid behind a tree to look inside.
There weren't many people in the restaurant. From this angle, one could see a middle-aged woman sitting next to the cash register, staring blankly ahead with a wooden expression.
Although she didn't seem very old, the hair at her temples had all turned white.
A streak of sunset light fell exactly on her shoulder. She didn't move an inch, and the red sunset didn't brighten her pale complexion; even her lips seemed to bear some sort of sorrow.
Shen Xian watched, her eyes reddening involuntarily. In such a short time, she had aged to this extent.
An infinite heartache and sourness surged up, and she turned away only to feel her heart as if it were being kneaded painfully.
This person was Bai Zhan's mother, who used to be a graceful Jiangnan woman.
After following Bai Zhan's father to Beiji, she opened her own restaurant here and became the boss.
She used to have fair skin and a full and curvy figure.
No matter how busy or tired, she always kept herself neat and pretty. In summer, she would wear a cheongsam, hold a folding fan, and her black hair would be cleverly coiled into a bun, sometimes with a hairpin, sometimes even a pair of chopsticks could create a beautiful hairstyle.
Women who grew up in the charm of Jiangnan waters always gave off a gentle feeling like water, and Bai Zhan's mother was even more so.
She was always smiling, speaking in a soft voice with a Wu dialect that made even ordinary words sound exceptionally pleasant when uttered by her.
Bai Zhan always said that his mother was the most beautiful and gentle woman he ever knew, and he would look for a wife just like her.
At such times, his head would be playfully tapped with the folding fan—"Young man should go out and see more of the world."
It was because of such a proprietress that her restaurant did extremely well.
Shen Xian always remembered her smiling at the door and saying, "Xian, you're here, I've kept a seat for you.
Past and present overlapped, the person before her no longer bore the voice and appearance of yesterday, the scene before her was no longer the prosperity of bygone days.
After a long while, Shen Xian steadied her emotions. She noticed a construction worker sitting by the road eating a pancake. She approached and asked softly, "Would you like to have a meal?"
The construction worker looked at her oddly, lifting the hand that held his pancake.
Shen Xian took out two hundred yuan from her bag, "Would you like to eat at this restaurant? Two hundred yuan can get you a lot of dishes; you can take home whatever you can not finish."
Seeing Shen Xian already handing over the money, the construction worker was somewhat surprised, "Really?"
Shen Xian nodded, pushing the money into his hand, "Their food is really good."
Although the man was astonished, he was happy to be treated to a meal, "Then thank you, I this..."
"No need to thank me, just go."
Shen Xian watched as the man entered the restaurant. The mother at the cash register got up to greet him, her wooden face showing a slight hint of life.
Fearing that the man would let slip, Shen Xian turned and concealed herself until she was sure that no one inside would see her, then she hurried away.
She used to be such a gentle and lively person! Seeing her like this now, Bai Zhan must feel heartache too.
In the early autumn of Beiji, everyone was in a hurry, as if rushing to get through winter.
After returning home, Shen Xian spared no effort and listed the names of the companies that had sent contract termination notices, their goods, and the requirements for the termination, including two that had sought significant claims.
Shen Xian roughly sketched out the warehouse's layout in her mind, as most warehouses were divided into areas alphabetically, with goods categorized and stored in their respective areas upon arrival, and then resorted by destination and date for shipping.
The collapsed shelves from yesterday were in Section D, where a batch of porcelain destined for overseas was stored. She remembered the total quantity of this batch, but was not very clear about how many boxes fell.
If anything was truly damaged, it should have been this batch of goods.
Surprisingly, this company had not issued any contract termination or compensation claims – perhaps they were not yet aware of the full extent of the situation?
After detailing all these contents and data, to ensure accuracy, Shen Xian reminded herself that when she went to the company tomorrow, she must verify the data against the contracts once more.
Having finished this work, she reviewed the job content that Zhang Chi had sent over during the day before washing up and going to bed.
That night, Shen Xian had a restless sleep, her dreams switching back and forth between the past and the present, leaving her covered in cold sweat.
Upon waking the next day, Shen Xian felt helpless at the dark circles under her eyes.
To avoid looking too haggard, she applied light makeup and dressed in her usual simple and modest attire before arriving early at the company.
She compared the information she had outlined the night before with the contracts and found that they mostly matched. By the time she finished, the three secretaries outside had already arrived at work.
Shen Xian organized and printed out the materials, preparing to show them to Gu Chen.
This was not something Gu Chen had asked her to do, but following Zhang Chi's guiding principle – "Think what the boss thinks, worry what the boss worries" – was never wrong.
As she left the office, she heard Gu Chen's voice tinged with annoyance, saying, "It's been 36 hours and you're telling me there's still no final tally?"
His voice, already deep, now carried a hint of anger. Though not loud, it was incredibly oppressive.
The door to Gu Chen's office was open, and Shen Xian could see Ma Qi with her head down, standing opposite Gu Chen, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gu, I'll go and expedite the process right away."
With the documents in hand, Shen Xian hesitated, unsure whether to enter or retreat.
A soft voice said something inside, and Ma Qi quickly came out.
She still walked arrogantly in her high heels, but there was an unmistakable look of embarrassment on her face.
As she passed Shen Xian, she cast an annoyed glance her way, as if blaming her for being there at that time.
Shen Xian had a good guess why Gu Chen was angry. From the warehouse data collection to the report to the checks, the data had to pass through many hands to reach the 35th floor, so it would naturally take some time.
In fact, it wasn't Ma Qi's fault.
Gu Chen, leaning back on the sofa in his office, noticed Shen Xian. He lazily lifted his hand and beckoned, and Shen Xian, who had been uncertain whether to enter or leave, had to walk in.
Shen Xian handed him the documents and reiterated her thoughts.
"How did you come to know all these figures?" Gu Chen asked, skimming through the documents before looking up at Shen Xian.
"I've worked in the warehouse for three years. I'm quite familiar with the layout of the areas and the types of goods each area holds. I also take note of the number and type of each batch of goods when they are stored. With the contracts you gave me yesterday, that's how I put together this simple report... I don't know if it meets the company's standards, but at least it gives us a rough idea..."
As Shen Xian spoke, she saw Gu Chen's expression growing more serious by the moment, and she, already not very confident, grew even more unsure of herself.
Seeing her stop mid-sentence, Gu Chen looked up at her. His face was expressionless, but his voice was softer than before.
He handed the documents back to Shen Xian, "Take this to Chen Nuo to format the text properly. Tell Ma Qi to announce a shareholders' meeting in half an hour."
"Oh, okay."
Shen Xian didn't fully understand what this meant, but she followed Gu Chen's instructions, handing over the documents to Chen Nuo and passing the message to Ma Qi.
Ma Qi glanced at the documents in Chen Nuo's hands and let out a dissatisfied huff, then turned to contact each shareholder's assistant to announce the meeting.